Key to your Heart
by Tsuki KamiNeko
Summary: Izumi left to study abroad in Italy and left many unfinished business in Japan. But a mysterious locket brings her back to a place where 'Once A Upon a Time...' becomes reality and must face the people she left behind. TakuyaxIzumi
1. Parental Love

A/N: Please read and review! I would love to hear what you think of this chapter! Thanks and enjoy! :D

Chapter 1: Parental Love

"Oh! Isn't this exciting?" her voice was covered in enthusiasm that the blonde girl sitting next to her did not share. The girl was sticking her face out the window to 'smell' the Japanese air as her thick brown curls bounced in the wind, "I've never really been back to Japan since I was just a small child! I hope to meet all your friends and family!" she continued to coo in her Italian language. Izumi sighed pulling back her hair into a ponytail as she slid the rubber band around it. The sound of the train tracks continued to rumble beneath them as they sat through the next several stations. The summer breeze didn't really help the heat that was pouring through the open windows as more train riders got on and off at each stop. The blonde girl peered out the windows with squinted eyes as the sun glared and blinded her for a brief moment and the movement caused something silvery to fall out of her pocket. The small clink of metal caught her friend's attention as she picked it up and looked at it with sparkling eyes. "Mios dio, Izumi…" she sighed touching the locket.

It was a beautiful crafted little locket that was shaped into a heart. The outside was encrusted with pink and purple amethysts that glistened so that it seemed like they were dancing. There was some sort of symbol on either side of the surface, but to one side it had a keyhole. Izumi hurriedly took the object away from her friend and stuffed it back into her pocket, her friend pouted. "Dolcissima… Where you get that from?" she asked. She didn't know that Izumi had any boyfriends that would send her such a lavish gift nor did she ever see her interested in those kind of jewelry.

Izumi looked up and gave her a small smile, "I'm sorry, Aoi… It's nothing really. I don't know where I got or who it's from. It just showed up at my front door in the dorm hall one day." Izumi shrugged kicking her feet at the ground. Her friend, Aoi, just sighed as she sat back down on the bench. It was the truth about the locket, Izumi didn't know where she got it from. When she inquired about it from her R.A. all she found out was that it came in the mail. The small box was addressed to her with no return address, at first she had assumed that the mailman had gotten it wrong. It wasn't until she opened it and a small white paper fluttered out that she knew it was for her. It didn't say anything except for one symbol, and it was one that she recognized very familiarly with. In the middle of the blank card was the ancient sign of 'wind', the same one she was labeled with back in the digital world. It still didn't make sense, the world was safe, wasn't it?

Izumi didn't want to take any chances and bought the next ticket home from Italy where she was studying abroad in. It was a good thing she was on summer break or else she wouldn't have had the time to come back home. The problem was that… She hadn't been home in over two years. She told herself that she would study hard in Italy before coming home, and with that goal in mind she hadn't realized just how long it had been since she left Japan. She called her parents as often as she could and they would always ask her if she was coming back for the holidays, but she always had to reject the invitation as much as it saddened her. But sometimes she wondered if it was because she wanted to run away from her feelings that she had developed in Japan with a particular boy. She didn't really say a proper good bye and he never saw her off like the rest of her friends did so their friendship ended up in a stalemate condition. He never wrote to her or called her, so she decided maybe it was time to move on from their childish feelings for each other.

She took out the locket and played with the klatch where the keyhole was. The box didn't hold anything else, just the locket and no key. She tried prying it open with pliers, but it didn't work. If she had to be honest with herself she had hoped that it was from _him, _but she didn't want to get her hopes up too high. She'd just have to figure it out when she gets home.

How her friend, Aoi Nakamura, ended up on the trip with her was just out of curiosity. Aoi was a native to Japan until her parents moved to Italy when she was just a baby and so she grew up as an Italian with the looks of an Asian girl. When she found out that Izumi was coming back to Japan, she wanted to come with to visit her original backgrounds. Though it was a good thing that her parents spoke Japanese to her at home or else there would be a serious language barrier between her and her friends back home. Speaking of which… She wasn't sure she was ready to face them yet.

Aoi tugged at her sleeve and pointed to the blinking sign that read 'Shibuya Stop' that popped her little thought bubble. "We're getting off here right?" she asked excitedly and Izumi nodded with a chuckle. It was like watching a five year old open presents on Christmas day. Both girls grabbed their luggage and strolled out onto the platform as a people shuffled left and right of them trying to dodge their large suitcases. "Are we waiting for the _genitore_?" Aoi asked with a happy smile itching to explode onto her face. Izumi quirked her eyebrows and laughed, she didn't understand why Aoi thought it was so exciting to meet her parents.

"Izumiiii!" a shrill voice echoed above the busy station as she recognized her mother's voice. The blonde was suddenly thrown into a tight embrace when she was attacked with kisses from her mother, "Oh honey, I've missed you so much! And look at you! You've grown into such a beautiful young lady! I can't believe it's been two years since I've seen my baby!" her mother cried as she hugged her again. Izumi returned the hug, the nostalgic smell of her mother really made it that much more real that she was finally back in Japan. Finally, her father came up to her and picked her up into his arms like she was still daddy's little girl and kissed her on the forehead.

"Mi piccola… You're finally home," he said happily, "Papa's missed you and so has your mother, you have to come home more often or else you'll break your mother's heart." he joked messing with her hair as Izumi brushed his hand away.

"I know, papa… I'm sorry it took so long," she replied. She pulled Aoi from the side and introduced her to both her mom and dad, "This is Aoi that I was telling you guys about that's staying over at our place for the summer. She speaks both Italian and she's pretty fluent in Japanese so feel free to speak either one to her," and Aoi nodded in agreement as Izumi's father picked up their luggage and headed towards the car with her mother talking animatedly to Aoi about Izumi's studies in Italy. Izumi carried her duffel bag and began to hang back slowly, away from the noise that was the city of Shibuya. Her father that shared only her green eyes peered down at his only daughter and chuckled which caught her attention, "What, papa?" she asked in a soft voice.

He shook his head allowing the sandy brown hair of his to fall messily across his eyes, "You don't seem happy to be home, what's wrong, mi piccola?" he asked with a small fatherly smile, "We've all missed you terribly at home," Izumi sighed and bushed her bangs back not knowing what really was bothering her. Was it her nerves or was it was something else? Something else that felt like it was bigger than anything she's ever had to deal with? It felt like a little of both. The look on his daughter's face said a lot, being her father, he knew when something was making her upset. He said gotten really good at picking up times when she's unhappy due to the fact that she used to throw temper tantrums back when they lived in Italy. He blamed only him and his wife for spoiling her since Izumi was their only daughter. But during the course of one summer, she suddenly changed. She was a lot more… Mature. "Is it about Takuya?" he asked so suddenly that Izumi stumbled slightly from surprise of that question.

"What?" she asked incredulously, her eyes large with some sort of shock that her father didn't really comprehend, "Why would you ask that?" she sputtered nervously looking away. But the pain her eyes saddened him, as a father it wasn't something you want to see in the eyes of your child. Something that would seem like her heart was breaking. That was the one thing that they, as parents, were supposed to protect their daughter from: unnecessary heartbreak and pain.

"The day you left… When you found out that he wasn't coming, you seem dejected and your mother and I saw the unbearable ache that was in your eyes and seeing from your reaction from the question, I'm guessing you guys never kept in contact?" he inquired softly, he didn't want to upset her even more.

Izumi shut her eyes; she suddenly wanted to cry. He was right though- he had hit a sore spot that has been bothering her the last two years. A subject that she chose to ignore because she couldn't and didn't want to face the truth that was the relationship that had broken between her and Takuya. She had kept in contact with the others, but Takuya… She couldn't bring herself to call or write to him. The fact that he would ignore her would be too much for her to handle. She stopped and opened up her duffel bag, and inside were bundles of letters. Her father looked at her with a quizzical expression. It was when she took a letter our that he realized that they were all addressed to the same person: Kanbara, Takuya.

"Izumi…" his voice cracking the tension around them, "Why didn't you send them?"

"I tried… I really did." she murmured so softly that her father had to kneel down to hear her. Izumi shook her head, but it was the expression that she wore that really broke his heart. Her eyes were brimming with tears that was near spilling over and the fear in her emerald eyes was unbearable. She dropped the bag and latched herself onto her father, "I was a coward… Too scared to figure my own heart out and too afraid that he would reject me. Papa… I think I've broken something that I can't fix," she said in between hiccups. She felt her father rubbing circles on her back to calm her down, something he's done since she was a little girl.

"Honey… If you love someone enough, you shouldn't be afraid to apologize. If they understand your feelings and where you're coming from I don't see why he won't forgive you and if he doesn't… Oh well, you tried and you were able to say sorry. Both of you need to convey your feelings for each other in order for you guys to communicate with each other. There can't be communication if you don't understand each other first." he said softly giving her a hug, "I think it's time you go see him, Izumi…" he pulled away and looked up at her, "Can I count on you?" he asked with a smile.

"Thank you, papa… I don't know what I would do without you and mama," she whispered giving her father a hug again. Her parents may be like all other parents: nosy and weird, but when you really need advice and guidance- they were always there for her regardless of how she's treated them over the years. Parental love… It's a great thing to have.


	2. A Friend Like You

Chapter 2: A Friend Like You

"Oh wow! Your house is so cute, Izumi!" Aoi giggled as she ran into the house. It was like any other Japanese suburban house: a small two store structure. It was amazing how energetic Aoi was in this humid and hot temperature, sometimes it was hard to keep up. Izumi just wanted to kick her shoes off and slide onto the cold sofa in the living room like all the other summers when she was a kid. Everything was the same even after two years, even though it wasn't much… She felt like she never left. Her parents dropped her luggage off and smiled, it felt so much more livelier just with Izumi's presence in the house again.

"Your sheets are clean and we prepared the guest room upstairs for Aoi. You want to show her to her room?" her mother suggested as she walked into the kitchen, "I'm sure the two of you are starving, I'm going to go prepare lunch. You two go get cleaned up," she quipped happily and her father just shrugged his shoulder and followed her in. Izumi laughed lightly to herself as she ran up the stairs, it was good to be home.

"Aoi?" she called out looking into her room where the girl stood looking at her pictures and dodaddles that she kept in her room. Her room was still the same shade of light purple draped with power pink saris. White drawers lined itself against the walls and her bookshelves were decked with different types of world traveling books. Her friend looked up and smiled at her, she pointed at a picture of her and a group of guys.

"Who are they? I didn't know you fancied hanging out with guys… You rarely did back in Italy. Thought you were more of a girl group kind of girl. Then again, it might explain the occasional aggressive outbursts," She trailed off, "But anyway… Who are they?" she asked excitedly leaning on the back of her feet, her eyes bright. Izumi sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, her energy level in this heat was daunting. She smiled at her and sat at the edge of her bed and motioned her to follow suit.

Aoi noticed the change in her friend's mood and sat down with a sad expression, "I'm asking too much questions?" she hinted with a fake wince and Izumi couldn't help but nod her head. "Sorry…" Aoi apologized, but she took her friend's hand and held on tightly, "Maybe it's me, but are you feeling all right? You didn't seem happy when we were on the train and you were awfully quiet in the car," she asked in concern. "Are you unhappy to be home?" Izumi crouched lower against her bed and sighed. She tucked her head into her folded knees and shook her head. That wasn't it at all, in fact, she had missed both her parents terribly and had always wanted to come back, but because of her stupid uncertainties, she pushed her family away in order to run away.

"It's a long story, Aoi," Izumi whispered, she felt Aoi's hand tighten around hers as she glanced up at her roommate.

"I'm your best friend, Izumi… I'm here to listen if you want," Aoi smiled lightly. An aura of warmth washed over Izumi, Aoi was special like that. She had the gift of warming up to people, she was kind and caring towards everyone she met so people often found themselves opening up to her. It was one of those things that she loved about Aoi, when you needed her the most, she was there.

Izumi furrowed her brows, she played with the locket that was in her pocket. She felt the cool klatch rub against her fingers as she began her tales of her fateful meeting with _them_ and _him_ although she left out the whole part out where she traveled to another distant world on a talking train. That would just sound bizarre. She continued on about their days after and how they began to grow up and in one summer how everything turned upside down. A summer that thrusted Izumi into a turbulence of uncharted waters. She was exposed to emotions she's never felt before; choices that she didn't want to make but had to. And Aoi listened, with a concentration that even awed Izumi herself. Aoi didn't even speak up once to question Izumi, she just silently sat there absorbing everything in.

"… So I came back because of this stupid little locket," Izumi said with a bit of despise, "a reminder that my business is unfinished here," Izumi raised the locket into the air where the sunlight from her window slipped in and caught a glimpse of the silver object. There was only silence in the room for the next minute or so until Izumi looked over at her huddled friend next to her. "Sorry, Aoi, that the story wasn't much more interesting," she laughed looking away. They heard the voice of her mother coming from downstairs calling them down to eat as Izumi stood up and patted her lap. "Time for lunch!" she grinned clapping her hands together. She looked to the ground and gave a small smile, "Just forget about what I just told you… It's not important really. It's my problem," with that she turned and headed out the door. Aoi heard her footsteps fade as Izumi skipped down the stairs and to the kitchen. The mix of their voices caught her ears, but she couldn't make out as to what they were saying. A sense of nostalgia hit Aoi at the pit of her stomach, she turned and stared at the photo in the frame.

"Takuya… Kanbara,"

x x x x

"Dinner was awfully delicious," Aoi grinned walking down the aisles. She was looking at the different substances that were lined against the shelves, some of the things sold at the store fascinated Aoi. The cold air from the open fridge wafted around them making a nice cool breeze against the summer heat of the outside. Izumi and Aoi had walked to the local 24 hour convenient store to grab some snacks and other materials that were needed at home. Aoi picked out a thin box with a toothbrush in it, she fiddled with it before putting it in the basket. "Your mother is a fantastic cook! I wonder if she'll lend us some of her recipes," Aoi wondered out loud.

Izumi grabbed some onigiris and dropped them into her basket; for breakfast. "Well, I'm sure she'll tell you if you just asked…" Izumi answered from the other side of the aisle. She shuffled down the fridge side of the store not noticing the man standing near it too when she bumped into him. Her basket fell with a small thump as her items began to scatter and roll about on the ground. "Oh, sorry about that… I didn't see you there," she apologized whilst picking her stuff up. The man bent down and picked up a jar of star candy and handed it to her, "Thank you," Izumi smiled grabbing her last onigiri on the ground

"You're welcome, Izumi," a familiar voice penetrated through her consciousness. Izumi finally looked up at the man and her jaws almost dropped to the floor if it were possible. Soft chocolate brown hair that oddly stood on ends and eyes that often twinkled with humor and laughter stared back at her. He looked exactly as he did when he was 13, except his face was much more mature and he lost some weight around the torso area and face, but it was still the same silly Junpei Shibayama. He opened his arms out and gave her a huge hug, "I can't believe that I'm meeting you at a convenience store of all places," he chuckled pulling away and getting a good look at her, "Look at you, all grown up and you've turned into a beautiful lady I must admit," his face turned a little pink from the last comment as they both knew that he had a crush on her when they were young. Izumi was still in shock, but a small smile drew upon her lips like she was recalling a trickling memory.

"Junpei, my goodness! Look at me? Look at you!" she waved up and down at the transformation from the blue and yellow jumpsuit he had loved to wear back then as a kid to faded jeans and a leather jacket. "You look so different, in a good way that is," she laughed, still gawking at the change. She let out a breath, "How are you?" she asked with a wide smile.

Junpei scratched his head and pursed his lips. Finally, after a minute of thinking, "Good… Really good, I just graduated from college. TU to be specific," he added with a big grin. Izumi's smile couldn't have been any bigger when she gave him a surprised look.

"Tokyo University? Good lord, to think you were bad at studying!" Izumi joked, "I wish you would've have told me this in your letters!" she exclaimed with a frown.

This time, it was Junpei's turn to laugh, "And I wished you would've told me that you were coming home," Izumi's smile faltered and she looked away. She bit her lower lip and sighed. She didn't really want to talk about it, but he was one her best friends and he had very right to know. Plus, the situation at hand also included him too, he was also a digidestined like herself. In the middle of her mental debate with herself Aoi peered from the aisle and called out her name.

"Geez, there you are! I was looking all over for you!" she murmured pulling lightly at her friend's sleeve when Aoi took notice of the tall man standing in front of Izumi. She blinked for a few seconds, "Who's that?" she inquired curiously with a point of her finger.

"Aoi! It's rude to point!" she scolded lightly, Aoi pouted and shrank back behind her friend. Junpei laughed and waved his hand to say that no offense was taken. He extended his hand and introduced himself as Izumi's old childhood friend and Aoi returned the favor.

"Hey, why don't you guys come to dinner with me and the others tomorrow night? We'll grab a few drinks and you know… Catch up," Junpei suggested with a hearty smile and glittering eyes as if he really wanted them to go. Izumi knew that it wasn't everyday that all of them were together, especially with her in Italy. She wasn't too sure what relationship still stood between the guys but the updates from Junpei, Tomoki, and Kouichi's letters told her that they still saw each other every now and then. There was a part of her that wanted to go, but a large part that didn't because she was scared of confrontation. Aoi felt like she was intruding upon a friend gathering and shook her head as she turned down the invitation to go, but Junpei reassured her that it wasn't a big deal. It'll be nice for Izumi to introduce them to new friends that weren't local to Shibuya. After a few minutes and exchange of numbers, Junpei headed towards the register.

"Junpei," Izumi called out, Junpei turned and saw the expression flash across the blonde's face and instantaneously knew what she was thinking about. He looked down to the linoleum floors and frowned slightly.

"I can't be sure he'll be there, Izumi… I hadn't heard from him in days. I'm sorry, but I hope this won't discourage you from coming… Tomoki will be ecstatic to see you, Kouichi too," Junpei murmured softly, giving her pleading eyes. He didn't want her to disappear from them again even though she was so close right now.

She lowered her head, but gave him an encouraging smile, "Okay, see you tomorrow night then…" the two girls waved him off as he walked off onto the street. Aoi looked ever at Izumi and saw her stare solemnly at the number on her phone.

"Are you going to be okay going through with this? I know it's just dinner and all… But it seems like a life or death choice for you. You can still say no if you want, there's still time," Aoi suggested lightly taking her friend's plastic basket and headed towards the register. "Together, please," she told the cashier before turning back to Izumi, "Takuya must have been someone important to have such an effect on you," she mused taking out some yens and handing it over. The two girls took their items and started their walk home. The sun had shrunk itself behind the looming mountains in the distant as faded car sounds echoed itself against the night skies as if it was lightly calling out to them. The cool breeze felt good with the warmth of the day still noticeable in the air. Izumi took a deep breath in and exhaled. Oh, how she missed the air of Japan.

They walked in the quietness of the falling evening, and the skies turned into a blaze of red and orange as it changed colors to a pale pink, pale purple, and dark blue dotted with small twinkling stars. Izumi opened her lips as if she wanted to say something, but couldn't bring herself to admit to her best friend that she was possibly still in love with a man that she hadn't talked to in over two years. Izumi pulled her fingers through her sandy hair in deep concentration before opening her lips again and this time, she honestly wanted to tell Aoi her fears.

"I'm scared," She stated concisely and to the point, "I'm scared that nothing will work out… I want to apologize, but I don't think I have what it takes to face him. I broke his heart and he didn't deserve that, he deserved better…" Izumi admitted guiltily, she had now begun to pull lightly at her hair. Something she did when she got frustrated.

Aoi pushed some of her curls behind her hairs and puckered her lips in thought. She stopped and turned to face Izumi, with a tender smile on her lips. "Dolcezza… Listen, the world isn't perfect and neither are relationships. Sometimes you'll hit a rough patch and it'll be difficult, but you can't give up just because you're scared. Don't let fear dictate you, especially when it comes to matters of the heart," She advised sincerely with a pat to Izumi's chin to keep her head high. "Plus, you'll never know what's going to happen, you haven't even gone to dinner yet and you're already thinking of the worst case scenario!" Aoi joked, "So smile, love, even if the future is shaky… I'll be right when you need me, Izumi."

Izumi couldn't help but smile and hook her arms around Aoi's as the two started walking again. _Thank you, Aoi, for everything… I'm so glad I have someone like you._

- - - - - - - x

**A/N:** I actually don't like it when characters suddenly become drastically sexy over a period of a time that's why I wanted to clarify that I didn't make Junpei magically lose weight and suddenly become handsome in the eyes of Izumi. He's still the same as before, but I did want him to have changed in some ways and I thought making him look more mature in the face would probably be more accurate due to the fact that he is 23 in this story.

But thanks for reading and I hope you'll review and let me know what you think of this chapter! Thanks! (:


	3. Phone Call

Chapter 3: Phone Call

Night had fallen and it had conquered the suburban town like a mythical god drawing a curtain of stars across the skies. The lights dotted themselves against the dark drape like orbs of lights. Lights began to flicker on the streets and homes began to dim, getting ready for bed. Aoi had already taken a shower and headed to her room after a short 'good night' to Izumi. She was sleepy yet and decided to sit by her window brushing her still-wet hair. Her eyes scanned itself across the town as ghostly images of herself ran down the streets with Takuya and the others formulated outside her window. Everything was so easy back then, being twelve meant being oblivious to her feelings and her own heart. It was something that she didn't have to think about, but as time progressed and they all grew up. Things had begun to change. Izumi began to see them as the opposite sex and vice versa. They came to realize that she was indeed a girl regardless that they had saved the world together or not.

Takuya became her primary interest because a past spark they had shared at the Digital World made them both curious as to how far they could take it. It was their first time exploring a territory that was completely new to them. They didn't understand what it was like to love someone nor did they understand what it was like to have their heart broken. The years that came after were exploration journeys on their way to understanding each other. They didn't just physiologically explore, they also took it to a physical level. The emotions were there and they were definitely attracted to each other, so sex wasn't exactly something that wasn't seen coming. Takuya was her first. The memories were still vivid in her mind like it happened yesterday, and every time she thought about it, her whole body tingled.

They started dating during their senior year in high school, they didn't go to the same school, but they made it work. It wasn't until they were first years in college that they actually got together. She was nineteen then when she first slept with Takuya, although he was her first, he had long since lost his in high school. The idea of him not being a virgin didn't really bother her, in fact, it comforted her because he guided her through the whole ordeal. When she cried at the pain, he was gentle. When she needed a break, he stopped for her. He was really delicate and treasured her more than anything in the world, and she knew that.

Their relationship consisted of petty arguments over stupid things, but they always made up at the end of the day. They were happy together and Izumi felt like no other man would have made her just as happy as Takuya did. Then again, they were naïve. There were things even at that age that they didn't understand. Things like opportunities in life were something like a curve ball that life threw at her. Izumi had never planned to go aboard, when she signed up it was due to a whim. She didn't even know she was going to get accepted. When she did, she couldn't let that chance pass her by. She tried talking to Takuya, but he didn't want to listen, he was angry that she didn't bother to tell him, and that she was just suddenly leaving out-of-the-blue one day. Their last days together weren't exactly 'days together'—It was more like giving each other the cold shoulder. She hoped that he'd forgive her before she left and so she waited for him at the platform, but he never came. If she could change it, she would do so in a heartbeat.

From the midst of her deep reminiscing with herself, a tune began to play from her phone. Izumi picked it up from her drawer top and looked at the screen. She didn't recognize the number, but something told her that she should pick it up. It might be someone important. She pushed the green pick up button on her touch screen and placed the phone to her ears cautiously, "Hello?" she murmured into the phone.

"**You're really home**," a familiar voice answered. It was soft and fluid, it was a tone that made her stomach knot up with guilt. Izumi sat back down near the window with a muffled sigh. She tugged on her hair expecting a lecture of why she didn't tell anyone and such, but all there was on the other end was silence.

"Kouichi?" she called out softly, hoping he hadn't hung up on her yet. She was pleasantly surprised that he had called. Junpei had probably texted the rest of the group about the meeting at the store. But at the same time, she was very nostalgic for a late night chat to see how everyone's doing. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything… I probably should've called before hand, but it was just so last minute," she said softly.

"**Like how it was the last minute that you told us about going back to Italy to study abroad?**" he asked. Izumi could hear the pain in his voice and was genuinely hurt by it. She hadn't expected Kouichi to be so straightforward about it. But she knew everything that has happened was due to her own cowardice. She had unintentionally hurt a lot of people by leaving so suddenly. She clutched the ends of one of her pillow and tried to swallow the lump that was forming in her throat. "**Junpei informed us about your arrival when you could've told us directly. Are you trying to avoid us?**" he asked with a slight waver in his tone of voice. The change made Izumi want to cry even more. He sounded so sad.

"No! Of course not!" She quickly answered, she didn't want him to get the wrong idea about her real purpose, "Something came up and it gave me the chance to come home and since I'm here… I intend to fix the problems I left behind. But I'm really sorry about what happened two years ago," she bit her lower lip in hopes that he'll forgive her.

"**I've long since forgiven you and wished you a good journey in Italy, so there's nothing to apologize for**," he chuckled, "**But you might want to patch things up with Takuya first,**" he trailed off from the receiver. For a moment, Izumi thought Kouichi had fallen asleep or something, "**He's not exactly the easiest guy to talk to, you know?**" he laughed pointing out the fact that Takuya had a really stubborn personality. When he decided on something, that was the end of the conversation. Izumi and Takuya butted heads plenty of times before in the Digital World, so she knew of the obstacle that lay before her. "**But Izumi, he genuinely loved you."**

Izumi couldn't say anything to that statement when large tears were already rolling down her cheeks as a flood of guilt overwhelmed her small body. She placed her face into her pillow as it stained into her lavender cover. Kouichi's voice could be heard just a few feet away calling her name out and asking if she was all right before there was sigh then a click and a dial tone took over. Never in her twenty-two years of being alive has she ever felt so horrible. It was the first night in many nights that Izumi actually cried herself to sleep.

x x x x

_"Takuya… I need to talk to you," she said softly over the phone. She was so nervous that her stomach was hurting. But she continued to fold the clothes from her drawer. The other luggage were already packed and neatly placed against the hallway outside her room. She could already feel herself wanting to cry, and it wasn't like her to cry so often. Yet, lately, that was about all she could do. Her hand trembled with anticipation as the clothing in her hand fell to the bed. She sat down and took a deep breath._

_**"Izumi? You all right? You sound terrible. I just finished soccer practice, so I'll be over in a few minutes to talk, okay?"**__ he said, and from his voice she could tell that he was in a good mood. This made her feel even more like crap than before. __**"I can't wait to see you though," **__he added with much enthusiasm and those words made Izumi's heart lurch to a full stop. She clasped a hand over her mouth to stop herself from completely breaking down. It wasn't like him to say those sappy things, and she was pretty sure he was turning red the moment those words left his lips. Those were the things that she loved about him. He'd only say those things to her because he meant it._

_ "I'm fine, I'll see you in a few minutes then. Okay, bye," Izumi hung up the phone and staggered a sigh. She didn't know why she held out so long before telling her friends that she was leaving to study aboard. She wouldn't normally keep secrets from the guys, let alone Takuya. Within fifteen minutes of their conversation, the doorbell rang and she could hear her mother greeting Takuya at the door and telling him that she was upstairs. The thuds upon the wooden steps made her want to sink into a deep hole and never come out, but it too late now he appeared at her doorway with a wide grin on his face._

_ "Hey, you," he greeted softly. He pulled her into a hug before kissing her on the forehead, then her nose, before landing on her lips and gently placing a delicate kiss on it. "I've missed you," he whispered into her hair while taking in her soft smell of vanilla and lavender. They didn't get to see each other much since they went to separate universities and what with him being the soccer captain and her being on the debate team, it didn't leave much room for other things. Izumi tried to pull away, but he held on tighter as if he was afraid to lose her._

_ "Takuya, look at me," she insisted, but he shook his head and continued to bury his face into the crook of her neck. He was probably too embarrassed to look at her while his face was burning beet red. "You shouldn't be embarrassed to say these things to me even though we've been seeing each other for three years now," she pointed out and he pulled away and gave her a pout._

_ "I was being sensitive!" he cried out dramatically like a child, "I thought girls like sensitive guys," he said throwing himself on her desk chair. She rolled her eyes in sarcastically. At least there was no tension at the moment. Takuya then noticed the suitcase on her bed and the clothes that were all over the place, "I saw some suitcases outside. Are you guys going vacationing in the middle of spring?" he joked pointing at the luggage in the hallway. Izumi paused midway in opening her drawer and bit her lower lip. This was it. It had to be now._

_ She turned around and faced him and pulled him into a tight embrace, "That's why I needed to talk to you," she said heavily. The words were getting hard to say as she neared the point of no return. He pulled away and arched a brow at her in confusion._

_ "You're really going on vacation?" he gasped and Izumi sighed at his obliviousness and his nonexistent skills at reading the atmosphere. She took his hands and held onto them tightly. She felt like her heart had jumped to her throat running at a thousand miles per hour. She knew that as this conversation progressed the feeling was only going to get worse._

_ She took a deep breath, "I'm leaving, Takuya. I'm going back to Italy to finish my university years and maybe looking into graduate school," the words just fell out of her lips like a wild tundra, "I won a scholarship to study abroad, Takuya. Please understand," her voice was begging for him to, "I know I should've told you and the others earlier, but it was all on a whim. I didn't know that I was going to actually get in," she pleaded._

_ He was silent for a few minutes, but to Izumi, it felt like decades just waiting for him to answer. She felt his hand tighten as he looked right into her eyes, "When are you leaving?" he asked dryly. Her head lowered and the tears were about to start, she hated herself so much right now._

_ "Two days," she replied looking up at him, but she could already see the flames of anger thrashing in his usually soft hazelnut colored eyes, "I was going to tell you! But, but I was so afraid that you'd be sad and I just couldn't bear to see you depressed over me," she explained. Takuya got up and walked to her window, suddenly he slammed a fist against the frame and Izumi flinched. Now the tears were pouring._

_ "And you thought this was a better alternative?" his voice was so dark and so angry. Izumi didn't know what to say to his question._

_ "I thought you'd understand," she said through the tears. She was wiping her tears on the back of her jacket as she watched Takuya's back. She'd understand if he wanted to leave her, she'd be ready._

_ He turned and walked over to her, he planted firm hands on her arms and made her look straight into his burning eyes. So it wasn't just her, Izumi could also see the pain in his eyes too, "I do… I'm so proud and happy for you, but I'm your boyfriend, Izumi. I thought I'd important enough for you to tell me these things. We could've discussed it together, but it seems like I was the last person you told," he was shaking his head at her. He'd given up, "I need some space and time to think," he mumbled. He picked up his bag and walked out of her room and down the stairs. Izumi stood there for a second before chasing after him._

_ "Takuya! Please don't…!" she cried out, her already tear stained face was now covered in a new sheet of tears. "Takuya!" she called out. She saw him get on his bike and fly off down the street leaving her alone at the doorstep. Izumi fell to her knees as her body was racked with waves of heartache. She remembered her parents running out and trying to console her, but the figure that was disappearing into the suburban horizon was the one person she needed the most. That was the last time she saw him._

_The following days, Izumi tried calling and texting only to be ignored at the end. The day she departed she left him a goodbye message hoping he'd get it, she really wanted to say goodbye in person, but he never came. Somehow, she expected nothing less. When she departed Japan, she told herself to never look back again…_

Izumi groaned and opened her eyes to sunshine pouring in when she pushed her blankets away and sat up. Birds were chirping outside and she could hear muffled voices beneath her feet. It seems everyone was up but her. The dream she just had, it was that day she had that talk with Takuya. The talk that went horribly wrong. Izumi clutched her head briefly a small throbbing pain seemed to have found its way into her forehead. She groaned again and threw herself against her pillows. Her hand landed on the phone from last night and Izumi sighed, the phone call from last night. It seemed to have resonated into her dreams. It was also memories that she didn't really want to conjure up, they were a bit too painful to relive.

"Izumi!" her mother called from downstairs, "Are you up yet Sleeping Beauty? Breakfast is ready!" Izumi placed the phone back onto the stand and stared at it for a while before heading to the bathroom to clean up. All it took was one phone call, one phone call to break down all her barriers that she spent years putting up to protect herself from the memories she didn't want to remember of _him_.

- - - - - - - - x

**A/N**: The incident happened when Takuya and Izumi were 20 years old. Just a heads up on the time line of their age.

Thanks for reading! Please review to let me know what YOU want to happen in the next chapter! :D


	4. Love at First Sight?

Chapter 4: Love at First Sight?

"What am I going to wear!? What am I going to wear?!" Aoi mumbled to herself whilst bustling across her room throwing blouses and skirts around. Her face was in full concentration as if the problem at hand was actually that grim. Her hair was pinned back with waves of curls cascading down her shoulder and her makeup was done up and pristine. Izumi couldn't help but roll her eyes, a habit she really needed to wean herself from doing. Izumi sat at Aoi's desk checking her nails out before deciding to file them down some more. Aoi seemed more nervous than Izumi was, but then again Aoi was always the one worrying about the perfect outfit and the perfect shade of lip gloss to impress what Aoi would call "the public's eye".

"Aoi, it's not like we're going to see the prime minister," Izumi said mindlessly squinting her eyes at her nails closely, she finally looked up, "Will you hurry up? Meet up time is in thirty minutes and we still have to drive down there," Izumi sighed looking at the clock that just struck seven. Aoi threw her hands up as if in frustration that Izumi wasn't more considerate to her situation. It was only after another ten minutes that Aoi finally managed to throw a rather cute outfit of a blazer, laced blouse, jeans, and peep-toe heels with miscellaneous accessories and a clutch. With the time remaining the two girls rushed down the stairs, Izumi kissed her parents goodbye before taking the keys to her car and left the Orimoto residence.

"You think she'll be okay, sweetie… I'm worried about her," Mrs. Orimoto sighed looking at the door her daughter just disappeared through. "She's hasn't been herself," she placed a small hand on her chin in thought as her husband sat at the couch and flipped through the newspaper with a contented expression.

"She needs to learn on her own, if we continue to protect her all the time, she'll fail to realize her own mistakes," Mr. Orimoto said quietly and his wife concurred to the thought and nodded. He knew that Izumi was a strong woman now and has the will power to change her own destiny.

x x x x

Kouichi looked at his watch and let out a small sigh, it was 7:45 pm already and Izumi and her friend haven't arrived yet. He peered down the busy streets lined with cars, taxis and pedestrians before shaking his head and walking back into the small pub-like restaurant. There at the bar sat Tomoki, Kouji, and Junpei laughing at each other's jokes and nonsense stories as the boys gathered another round of beers. Junpei looked up with a huge grin and took a swig of his drink.

"Is she here yet?" Junpei asked as Kouichi sat down and ordered himself a drink; the raven haired boy shook his head, "Well, that's surprising… Izumi is usually quite punctual, but then again maybe they're getting dolled up and stuff. You know them girls when it comes to make up and stuff." He said setting the drink down and waving at the waitress for a table.

"Oh, but Izumi has never been like that. She may be a girl, but she was never obsessed with cosmetics and taking forever picking out an outfit. I do hope she comes, I haven't seen her in forever… Although we kept in touch, it's nice to see her in the flesh. It's about time she came home to visit." Tomoki said jokingly with a smile. As if right on cue, the boys heard two bickering voices coming from the doorway as a blonde and a mahogany haired girl stepped in.

"What! I did tell you to make that right turn!" the curly-haired girl retorted with a wave of her hand and Izumi just scoffed and turned her head the other way.

"The map was upside down, Aoi! Have you not read a map before? Look! We're already fifteen minutes late as it is!" Izumi exclaimed loudly with a huff and Aoi turned to face Izumi with her cell phone in hand.

"This is why we have smart phones, Izumi!" Aoi replied her cheeks tinted pink with anger. At this point Izumi was ready to throw something and as she was about to blow Junpei intercepted the two with his usual happy mood making the two girls turn to look at him with furious eyes. "What?!" The two shouted at him. Izumi caught sight of Junpei and exhaled a breath to calm herself. "Junpei!" she remarked causally with a newfound smile, "I'm sorry we're late, we sort of… Got lost." Izumi said peering at Aoi who just gave her a big raspberry.

"Now, now you two, no fighting amongst friends!" Junpei lightly scolded the two before steering them towards the rest of the group.

"Izumi! Oh, we've missed you so much!" Tomoki jumped up in ecstasy and gave the girl the tightest hug. Izumi returned his friendly gesture and pulled him away to get a good look at the boy who used to cry and complain about everything. Now he was a tall and sophisticated young man with a clean cut hair style and a casual chic wardrobe.

"My! Look how you've grown into such a handsome lad," Izumi smiled, her heart just swelled seeing how good her friends were doing. "Kouichi," she noted with kisses to the cheeks, "It's so nice to see you guys again," she finally walked over to Kouji. The once solemn lone-wolf of the group who had learned to love and make friends looked up at her with a small smile. Izumi had learned long ago that Kouji wasn't exactly used to female contact so she had always kept their gestures to handshakes. "Everyone, I would like you to meet my best friend from school," Izumi pulled Aoi next to her who had a brimming smile on her face. The petty fight between them before had already dissolved into the past. "Her name is Aoi and she'll be staying with me for the summer. Aoi, this is Junpei, you've already met him at the store. Tomoki, Kouichi, and Kouji. Those two are twins." Aoi extended her hand in greeting at each of them when she reached Kouichi, he didn't return the favor.

Kouichi had gone silent as he stared at the girl before him. Her sheer beauty had petrified him to stone. He couldn't help but realize how beautiful she was with her flourish of brown hair, her small pink lips that was shimmering ever so gently in the room, her alabaster skin, but mostly it was her eyes that really caught Kouichi's attention. They were swirls of purple in a haze of brown that made them too hard to peer away from. It was only when his brother gave him a gentle push did he realize that he didn't introduce himself yet. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Kouichi."

She gave him a small smile that made his knees go weak for a second, "Kouichi…" she repeated, and he loved the way his name just slipped from her lips. "That's a cute name," she chuckled before being escorted to a table with the rest of the group. As Izumi passed by Kouichi, she pushed his chin back up so his mouth was closed.

"Keep gaping and we'll all be drowning in your saliva soon," Izumi said with a wink. Kouichi turned a shade of red so bright she thought his head would've fallen off from the pressure. Was it even possible? Kouichi had never thought about it, was maybe, just maybe that 'love at first sight' was possible.


	5. Good Reads

Chapter 5: Good Reads

Kouji watched as Izumi nodded absentmindedly to all the stories and the jokes that the others were telling her about. Her friend was in quiet chatter with Tomoki over something that seemed to interest only the two of them. He could see it in Izumi's eyes that she wasn't really into the mood and that she was waiting for more. It was as if she was waiting for _someone_. Her empty smile and her constant glance at the door only meant that she was waiting for him: The dark haired brunette that she had broken so long ago. He was never upset at her for what she had done, opportunities were opportunities, especially the ones that come only once in a lifetime. The only thing that was done wrong was how it was communicated towards one another. Kouji had learned the hard way that without talking to each other and communicating about what each person really feels or want to say—things get misconstrued and feelings are hurt.

Izumi was a shell of her original self, she was like him now walking around with a fake façade, but at least she pulled it off with a smile to the people around her. As for Takuya, he couldn't even begin to explain what he had turned into a few months after Izumi left them. Kouji frowned at the thought. This isn't the way things were supposed to be, Izumi was supposed to be the strong willed and stubborn, the girl who was headstrong and took life by the reigns. In a brief moment Izumi excused herself from the table and walked outside. Kouji waited a bit before following after her. He saw her make her way around to the parking lot then squatting down by the sidewalk of the empty lot. She brushed a hand through her hair with a small sigh. The look in her eyes was more than he could handle. Izumi although brash at times always had this natural beauty about her that just captivated the men around her. The way her hair would gleam under the moonlight and her eyes were always so full of life and happiness, it pained him to see her so distraught and downtrodden.

Kouji placed a hand on her shoulders and she flinched, she looked up suddenly and he gave her a small smile, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," she shook her head. Kouji sat down next to her and looked ahead, the sound of and overhead plane passed by them and noise of the city mixed itself into the rather quiet night. The two were quiet for a moment before Kouji spoke up, "You okay?" Izumi didn't reply and just hid her face in her arms and knees.

Izumi finally poke up but in a small and meek tone, "He's not coming is he?" she asked weakly. She inhaled and finally looked up with a small, yet broken smile, "I really messed up, Kouji… More than anything I'm wishing that somehow I could go back and change the way I did things," she laughed, "He probably doesn't even know I'm home," she joked sparingly. Kouji pursed his lips; he couldn't bring himself to tell her that Takuya actually didn't know she was home. The group had thought that it would be better if he didn't know and that the two shouldn't meet as of now. Both of them had changed so much since the last time they saw each other, Junpei and the others weren't sure if it was the best idea. They felt that if they had met, things would've just gotten worse.

"Izumi, you made a mistake… It's not the end of the world. Learn from it and try your best to fix it, that's all you can do. If Takuya doesn't want to mend and move on then that's his loss," and his last statement he meant it, "You're a beautiful and smart girl, you deserve to live your life freely," it was simple advice that he hoped Izumi would take to heart, because he didn't want her to struggle for her future because of this one mistake she made, even if it was with his best friend. "Don't stress about it too much, when the time comes, I'm sure you'll know what to do." Kouji said softly, he gave her shoulder a small pat before getting up and walking back in. Izumi sighed and continued to sit by herself in the rather empty parking lot and looked up into the sky that was empty of stars due to the massive light pollution that Tokyo was infamous for. What Kouji didn't understand was that Takuya was her world and he had meant everything to her. One thing she was for sure was that she needed him as much as he needed her.

x x x x

The sun was shining on a beautiful Saturday morning. Aoi was still in bed due to the few too many drinks she had with the boys last night. She didn't really mind taking care of her best friend as it gave her something to think about rather than mope around about a particular boy. Her parents had left early to go catch an early train, they were going to go flower watching. It was something they had always done since they've gotten married, spend at least one day of the week together alone and Izumi had always thought it was a sweet gesture. She wished her life were as blissful as her parents in the future. Izumi sat on the cool couch flipping through an old book that she had read a dozen times before getting up and placing it back on the shelf. She looked around the empty house and decided perhaps she would go out and get some new books to read. She didn't want to waste such a nice day staying indoors.

Izumi clamored upstairs and pulled out a white halter summer dress and changed, she brushed her hair back into a ponytail ran her fingers through her bangs before giving herself a small smile in the mirror and went back downstairs. As she left she wrote a hasty letter to Aoi just in case she woke up that she would be going out for a bit and that there was food in the fridge.

The small bookstore was a few blocks down and had always held more intricate books than the big bookstores in the city. It was also quaint and homely, an atmosphere that she enjoyed the most about it. The walls were lined with older books from floor to ceiling and were always retrieved by using the movable ladders that were attached to each shelf. Izumi blocked the sun out of her eyes with her hand thinking about what kind of books she was going to get when the small store came to view. She smiled and walked a little faster hoping to immerse herself in a new story this weekend to keep her mind occupied. She opened the wooden doors and the bells chimed daintily against the frame notifying her entrance to the store. Sunrays peered through the tempered glass windows giving the store a warm and pleasant feel. Izumi walked down an aisle littered with books on each side and stacked on the floor ready to be placed on shelves. She ran her fingers against the spine reading the titles one by one. Her finger landed on a classic of William Shakespeare's work and it readily fit the occasion: _A Midsummer Night's Dream_. She grinned and pulled the hardcover book from its space and placed it in her arms.

As she reached the end corner of the store did she realize that there was some sort of noise coming from the very back. Izumi froze in her spot and furrowed her brows, was she not the only customer? She hadn't spotted anyone else in the store. Now that she thought about it maybe it was the store clerk, an elderly gentleman that owned the lovely bookstore stocking up new reads. Izumi heaved a relieved sigh that must be who it was! She should pop in and say hello, as it has been quite a few years since she last talked to him. Izumi walked down the remainder of the walkway, and walked around to the darker corner of the store but when she turned it wasn't the person whom she was expecting it to be. Instead she was greeted by thing that would forever be burned in her heart and mind.


	6. It's Raining

Chapter 6: It's Raining

Izumi wasn't sure if it was the sound of the book clattering to the ground or the sound of her heart breaking that disrupted the scene before her because both of them sounded deathly loud to her at the moment. Her breath was stuck in her throat as her stomach clenched itself tightly. Right there before her eyes was the boy she had thought was her world kissing the neck of a young red head leaving love marks all over her flawless skin. One of his hands was caressing the back of her neck and the other strategically down her pants as the girl moaned softly at his touch. The girl had on an apron that had the store's name on it so she had to be a new part time worker or something; she barely looked older than eighteen. Her small hands were sprawled against the shelf as she shuddered and a small gasp left her lips as if she had just finished.

The sound of the book on the wooden floors brought the two's attention onto the blonde and before Izumi turned and ran she saw his face, first a smirk at his accomplishment then an array of expressions before landing on shock when he turned and saw Izumi's face. The other girl was so surprised that she fell to the floor before picking herself up and her pants. Izumi wasn't sure what expression was on her face, disgust or anguish, maybe both because she definitely felt it. The air was hard to breath as she tried to make her way through the bookstore. Why did it feel so big all of a sudden? Her vision blurred and for a second she thought her eyes had gone bad before realizing that large droplets of tears were falling down her face like a facet. She wiped her eyes free of the tears; she had almost reached the front door when she stumbled on a stack of books leaving her slumped on the ground. She heard his footsteps and the voice of the other girl telling him how much trouble she was going to be and what she should do, he didn't seem to be listening—just calling Izumi's name.

Izumi pushed herself up, her left shin throbbing and threw open the door. The sun was bright and the sudden light made her eyes hurt. But she didn't give herself the opportunity to adjust before running out into the streets and towards home.

x x x x

Kouichi was making a daily run to the farmer's market in town. He was picking up a few ingredients for dinner since Kouji's parents were visiting. The two brothers had moved out together in hopes that it would help create a more familiar bond with each other. Strangely enough, the two already shared a lot of similar traits. Both ate their bread crustless and always had to cut the toast in half before eating it. The two also hated mung beans and eggplants, which were pretty specific foods to dislike. While the two also shared many differences, the two got a long quite well. Kouji acted like the older of the two most of the time since Kouichi was still quite shy around people and had a hard time speaking up. But Kouichi was getting there, to a level where he could appreciate the people around him.

He was in the midst of walking home when a small sob caught his attention; Kouichi looked up from his ingredients list and saw a blonde girl standing on the side of the street rubbing her eyes of tears. Kouichi recognized the face and immediately ran over with hands full of food. The girl looked beaten up, a nasty bruise was forming on her left shin and her face was smeared with dried up tears. "Izumi?" he called out softly not wanting to scare her away, the looked up and smiled. Even at her worst she manages to smile through her pain. "What the hell happened to you?" he asked worriedly. He put the bags down and pulled out a napkin from one of the bags, "Hope you don't mind, it's all I got," Kouichi said wiping her face with it.

"Thanks, I'm okay now." Izumi said taking the napkin into her hands, "I just tripped and fell… Bruised my knee. It kind of hurt and I was hoping no one would notice if I shed a few tears," Izumi reassured him with a pat on his hand. She didn't want to drop her problems onto Kouichi's shoulders; he has a lot of things to deal with as it is. But the fact that she had to lie to him didn't make her feel any better about what she saw today. She peered over her shoulder to make sure he hadn't followed and finally let out a sigh. Kouichi wasn't sure if that was the truth, he felt that she was hiding something from him, but sometimes it wasn't easy to talk about stuff. He wasn't the one to pry, but when she feels like talking though, he'll be here for her.

"Let me walk you home," Kouichi offered, although Izumi insisted that she can walk herself home, Kouichi just couldn't leave such a vulnerable girl out by herself. They didn't say much during their walk, but Izumi did appreciate his company. The last thing she really needed was to be alone with her own thoughts. They finally made their way up her stone steps, Izumi fumbled with her key when the door opened. Kouichi almost dropped his groceries when he saw Aoi open the door, but it wasn't just her, but the fact that she was just in an oversized t-shirt with no pants underneath that almost gave him a nosebleed.

"Aoi!" Izumi literally screamed pushing her away from the door, she saw how red his face has gotten and knew that this was quite the scene to be greeted with: A half naked girl at the door. She has to admit that in Europe people didn't mind as much, but in Asiatic countries, people tended to be more conservative. "Sweetie, you can't go opening the doors half naked!" Kouichi could hear Izumi lecturing her best friend.

"Why? I do it all the time in the dorms," Aoi pointed out with a pout.

"We're not at school anymore," Izumi sighed pinching the bridge of her nose, "Things are a little different here, you're going to need to put on some pants when you greet people at the door," Izumi walked over and grinned at Kouichi, "I'm so sorry about that, I hope you didn't mind,"

Kouichi waved a hand, "Not a all!" he blurted out hastily. He couldn't really tell her that he actually liked it He was able to see those beautiful legs underneath a rather tight little ass. He chuckled backing out from her front door but not before tripping over himself a little. Aoi giggled and that made him turn even redder, "Okay, I'm going to go now… Before I embarrass myself even more," Kouichi mumbled walking out of her gate. Izumi and Aoi waved as the boy disappeared down the street. They closed the door behind them before Aoi threw herself onto the couch.

"He's cute," Aoi chuckled, "Who would've known that Izumi Orimoto was hiding a bunch of hotties under her wings," Aoi teased before Izumi threw a pillow at her.

"Don't go messing with any of them, you may be my best friend, but they're family to me. You got it?" warned Izumi with pointed fingers, Aoi merely nodded. She went to the kitchen and opened up the fridge. "Did you eat yet, Aoi?" she asked.

Aoi played with her nails and responded, "Nope! Hey, I thought you went to the bookstore to get a book… Didn't find anything you liked?" Aoi asked peering over the couch at her friend whom was rummaging the fridge to make lunch. She noticed the large bruise on Izumi's leg and hopped over in an instant, "Oy mio dios, what happened to you!" Izumi shrugged and mumbled that she tripped and fell, but Aoi sensed that there was more to it. "Honey, your eyes are swollen and red and you just look like you've been through hell…"

Izumi closed the fridge doors her voice trembling, "Aoi, I think I made a huge mistake coming home." She murmured with her hears falling to the ground like raindrops.


	7. Last Chance

Chapter 7: Last Chance

Takuya had left the bookstore girl behind and threw on his gear before racing down to town, there was a person that he needed to talk to. He clutched in and shifted up a gear as he pushed his R1 past a hundred. He knew it wasn't safe when his mind wasn't focused because he could be in a world of pain if he wasn't paying attention to the road. But he can't help it when the only girl he had ever loved shows up out of nowhere, there was no helping his mind digressing to the past. He hated the fact that she saw him like that; he hated himself for turning into such an asshole. The look on her face when she saw him in the corner messing with that girl, he didn't know why but he suddenly felt disgusted with himself. His heart was hurting again like it did when she had left him the first time, but this time he was at fault. He had caused his own pain and hers. More than anything he was pissed that no one bothered to tell him that Izumi was in town again.

He slowly let go of the throttle and put on his brakes as he arrived at his destination, Aomame Apartments, where his best friend and his twin brother lived in in Downtown Tokyo. He took off his matte black helmet, his messy hair falling all over his mahogany colored eyes. They were burning with a fuel that was going to be hard to extinguish with just words. There was going to be flying fists and a whole lot of pushing and shoving. He pulled off his gloves and made his way up the stairs to the third floor door 3D and barraged the door with heavy knocks. A few minutes later the door opened up to a frowning raven-haired man.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Takuya—it's the middle of the afternoon, don't you have some girl to shag?" Kouji retorted rather icily. Takuya narrowed his eyes and pushed the door open, Kouji merely stepped back and let him have his way. Kouji always knew how to push Takuya's button, especially the ones that annoyed him the most.

"No, what the hell do YOU think you're doing? Hiding that shit from me?" Takuya hissed dropping his helmet and gloves on the couch. Kouji merely shrugged as if he didn't know what Takuya was talking about. "Don't give me that bullshit shrug, Minamoto," Kouji scoffed, Takuya hasn't called him that in a long time and the only time he does is when a fight was about to go down between the two. If it was a fight he wanted then a fight was what Takuya was going to get. The two had actually gotten quite good at the ways of martial arts since their days at the Digital World, it had taught them much in defending themselves. Takuya threw himself at Kouji pushing the two men onto the ground while Kouji struck Takuya in the rib leaving him clenching his side. Takuya threw a kick at the dark haired-boy in return. Kouji tried deflecting but Takuya had always had the upper hand when it came down to that category as he's been playing soccer for some years now and always produced powerful kicks. Kouji landed against the wall with a loud thud, Takuya took the opportunity and rushed him pushing Kouji further against the wall.

"Why didn't you tell me she was home?" Takuya asked darkly his eyes clouding with anger.

"Look what you've become!" Kouji seethed trying to put some sense into his best friend, "We thought that if you guys didn't meet, it would've been best for her and you. She doesn't need to see you like this!" he continued referring to the person Takuya had become. Izumi wasn't the only one that changed; Takuya had begun to show irresponsible behavior a few months after Izumi had left. He used his popularity as captain of the school soccer team to hook up with girls and messing with them. The group had thought it was a phase and eventually Takuya would move past it but as time moved on he only got progressively worst. The once joyous and kind boy had disappeared behind a layer of alcohol and sex. He had turned his back on the world resulting from his broken heart. For a second Kouji saw Takuya's expression shift, an expression that he hasn't seen in him in years: guilt.

Takuya backed up panting face twisted in a form of pain Kouji couldn't comprehend, "That wasn't for you to decide!" he said angrily at his best friend. Kouji knew that Takuya was hurt from Izumi's past actions and on top of that they had to hide the fact that Izumi was finally home from him. It did seem unfair, but the group was just trying to protect the two from getting hurt. But it seemed like the plan had backfired and in some miraculous and unforeseen chance the two had met, but under rather scrupulous circumstances it seems.

Kouji brushed himself off and furrowed his brows; something in his guts was telling him that something bad had happened, "What did you do?"

Takuya's face was blank, he seemed like he was having an internal fight within himself, "How was I supposed to know if no one told me. She came out of nowhere… Of all bookstores, why would she choose that one to go to…?" he trailed off mumbling to himself, he turned to look at Kouji straight in the eyes, "She saw me with another girl," he finally let out in a gasp, "I didn't know what to do… I couldn't stop myself…" Kouji couldn't believe how broken his best friend sounded just now, how he looked like he did two years ago.

The raven-haired man didn't need another explanation to know that Takuya had done something he wasn't supposed to out in public. It must've been something sexual again. Kouji didn't know whether he wanted to punch him in the face for doing something out in public or the fact that Izumi of all people saw him. "Both of you are idiots," Kouji finally said half-heartedly with a frown, Takuya ruffled his hair in frustration then threw himself onto the couch. Kouji picked up his sweater and found his keys, he then motioned for Takuya to get up.

"Where are you going?" Takuya asked dejectedly.

"You're going to go beg for her forgiveness," Kouji simply said emphasizing on 'you're' while throwing on the jacket. Takuya was going to object but Kouji gave him his stern look that if he didn't there was worst things to come.

"Kouji, it's been two years… I haven't mailed her, called her, even sent a simple email telling her I'm okay… What makes you think she's going to want to talk to me let alone forgive me?" Takuya asked with a sarcastic laugh

Kouji exhaled through his nose and turned to look at him over his broad shoulder, "Because regardless of what happened today, Izumi still loves you,"

x x x x

Aoi heard a knock on the door she frowned a bit, who would be coming over in the middle of the day, plus Izumi's parents were not due until later tonight. She had just spent the last thirty minutes listening to Izumi's story through sobs and hiccups. Every time Izumi broke, Aoi's heart broke along with her. She knew deep down that even though this boy, Takuya, had done something so atrocious to her, Izumi was still madly in love with him… Or else she wouldn't be crying so hard for him. She was telling her how much she hated him, and that she shouldn't have come back to Japan. Aoi continued to rub Izumi's back as she lay on Aoi's lap, but the incessant knocking on the door grated on Aoi's nerves until she couldn't stand it any longer.

"Sweetie, I'm going to go get the door," Aoi said softly stroking the blonde girl's hair. Izumi just nodded before closing her eyes for a bit. Aoi hopped over the couch and went to the front door. When she opened it up a crack to see who it was, for a moment she thought Kouichi had come back, but when she looked again she realized it was his twin brother, Kouji instead. "Can I help you, Kouji?"

Kouji pursed his lips and placed his hands in his pockets when Aoi noticed he wasn't alone. She opened the door wider to see a rather tall brunette in a leather motorcycle jacket, messy brown hair over beautiful brown eyes few feet away. Aoi recognized him from the pictures in Izumi's room and by the description that Tomoki had told her the night before. It was Takuuya. Aoi eyes narrowed in suspicion and she looked up at Kouji, "Sorry, she's not in the mood to talk," Aoi said curtly and was about to close the door when Kouji stopped her with his hand above her. Aoi's lavender eyes darkened to meet his, he may be towering over her, but she wasn't scared to hurt him if she had to, "What part of 'she's not in the mood' did you not understand?"

Kouji didn't argue with her, but simply asked her in one word, "Please?" he said softly. Aoi was so taken back by how genuine and vulnerable he sounded that she opened the door for him. She put on her shoes and stepped out, she followed Kouji down the wooden steps and towards his car. As they passed Takuya, Aoi made a grab at Takuya's arm, the boy looked down at the small girl—her eyes blazing with some sort of ambition to protect her best friend as if warning him that if he did anything and she meant _anything_ to Izumi again, she was coming after him. The moment ended and the girl stepped into the car and disappeared into the darkness. Kouji went over to the driver side and before getting in, he looked up at Takuya, "Don't do anything stupid, this is your last chance," the car started and the two left him and the door of 'last-chance' wide open for him.

A/N: Please review and let me know what you think! I love to hear from you guys!


	8. Stormy Isles

Chapter 8: Stormy Isles

Izumi could hear mumbled voices coming from the door, but she couldn't make out what they were saying, but eventually there were no voices left and that made her wonder. She opened her eyes slowly letting the light flood in and managed to pull herself up, "Aoi?" she called out meekly, "Aoi, are you there?" she tried again. She rubbed her eyes, as they were swollen all over again and the pain in her leg was really starting to bother her a bit. She heard the door close and when she turned around hoping to see Aoi, her heart almost stopped when she saw Takuya standing by the doorway instead. Izumi scrambled off the couch making her fall over, Takuya walked over and reached down to help her up but Izumi flinched when he did so. His heart sank, never in his life has a girl ever reacted so negatively to his touch before. It wasn't like he wanted to hurt her on purpose. He remembered there was once a time when she loved it when he would kiss and touch her ever so gently across her soft porcelain skin. Now, she barely wanted to be in the same room as him.

"Izumi…" Takuya tried to cajole her into talking to him, "Please, I'm so sorry," and he really meant it. He didn't want to see her like this; he didn't want to know that it was because of him that she was like this: Broken and hurt. Izumi's eyes widened with fear before her shoulder began to quiver, her deep pools of green overfilling themselves with tears. "Don't cry…" his own voice sounding weak and unconvincing. _Please_, he begged in his own mind, _just let me protect her again_. Somewhere in the distance and upstairs in Izumi's room, two bright lights shimmered to life. A soft aura of light had surrounded itself around the locket that Izumi had hidden away under her drawer. It hovered for a second and just as quickly as it came, the light dimmed and the locket rested back in its place.

x x x x

Aoi felt a jolt in her heart and looked up into the cloudless sky through the car window. Scenes of the city flashed past them in an instant, but she took no notice of them. A sense of urgency flooded her body for a moment before the feeling dissipated. She clenched the sleeve of her arm and watched the sky tentatively. So it has begun, there was a new energy that was covering the city now and she was afraid that if she had sensed it, other beings were also well on their way to look for it as well.

"You all right?" Kouji's voice shook her awake from her thoughts and Aoi just smiled at him, "You look a little pale," he noted. Aoi did indeed did feel drained momentarily of energy.

"I'm fine," she reassured him although she wasn't so sure her expression hadn't already given her away. He gave her one more glance before shrugging watching the road ahead. Aoi couldn't shake off the feeling that something bad was coming this way and if her feelings were correct an evil presence was lurking about. "You think those two are going to work things out? I mean what happens if they don't?" Aoi inquired almost to herself, but it was quiet enough in the car that Kouji heard her.

"They'll work it out, it's not going to be easy or pain-free… Knowing those two, they're destined to be together." Kouji answered, "As cheesy as that sounds," he added with a small chuckle.

Aoi's lips frowned, "Destiny, huh…" It was an interesting way of putting things, if this was destiny at play then Takuya and Izumi was about to face things that's going to test them as individuals and their relationship as one. She closed her eyes and said a little prayer, hoping that everything turns out well in the end.

x x x x

"Go away!" she yelled at him as she slapped his hand away from her, she was crying now, heavy tears once again staining her face, "I hate you I hate you! I hate you!" she threw the heavy words at him over and over again as if they were going to make him go away. She had backed up into the wall and she slid against it huddling herself from his presence. She wanted him gone from her life, never wanting to see him again if that were possible. Never in her life had she felt so much emotional pain from one person before, the way he would drive her to the edge with just a simple look.

Takuya had always been stubborn and persistent, how did they end up like this? They were so in love with each other before, now they're just pieces of themselves left ruined by unfortunate happenings. He just couldn't let this end like this. He slid his arms underneath her legs and the small of her back and lifted her up in one swoop. She struggled against him at first, fighting and kicking screaming for him to let her go, but he held on tight refusing to let have her way. He made his way upstairs, the familiarity of the house still fresh in his mind like it was yesterday and pushed the door of her room open with his foot. The sun was turning a heavy orange as the sky began to darken as well, Takuya left his princess on her bed whom turned swiftly to her side, her back against him. He drew the shades, which threw her room into darkness with just a few strand of light coming from the window. He took off his jacket, placed it gently against the chair and climbed onto the bed with her. They didn't say anything at first, the two just lying there in the quiet room, listening to the faraway sounds of cars and jet planes passing overhead.

Izumi was tired. She'd been crying so much lately that she didn't know she had that ability within herself. She had never meant to hurt him, she wanted so badly to stay here and spend her days with him, grow up with him by her side. But her dreams lied elsewhere and she only took that route because she thought that was the best choice for her life. If only she had the courage to have told him earlier, to talk it out, they wouldn't be here right now. She knew that everything had started because of her, she made one bad decision and everything else just went to shit. She couldn't admit to herself, but now that she was finally home, seeing Takuya in the flesh and letting out all those tears that has been bottled up inside—she realized that she's been miserable without him. Even though they were separated by thousands of miles, she never forgot about him, he was always on her mind. She couldn't selfishly blame him for what he has done. It wasn't like they were still together. He had the free will to do whatever he liked.

Takuya looked at the nape of her neck, her hair flowing across her bed. He reached out subconsciously and stroked her neck, but she moved away uneasily and he retracted his arm. "Please, Takuya. Don't touch me," her voice cracked weakly under the last of her strength. He sat up and the girl only curled tighter into her ball of safety, "Just leave," she begged finally. Even if she had felt miserable without him, what she had seen today could not be unseen. The last punch to her heart was a little more than she could handle. At this point she didn't know if what was left of their relationship was repairable.

From the darkness she felt his strong arms wrap around her tightly and she shrieked at him to get off. She fought him with all that was left in her body, but he just held on tighter. Her cries were muffled into his shirt as she punched his chest feebly, "I hate you..." Izumi hiccupped out. She was exhausted, her eyes felt like heavy coals hot and corpulent with tears still in them. She just wanted to sleep now, to be covered in the warmth of another's arm felt never felt so good to her, even if that one person was the last person she wanted to see. But in the haziness of her delusions, she knew that the only person that could calm her stormy heart was the person that had hurt her the most and she was glad that he didn't let go of her as she drifted off into a deep slumber.

- x x x x

A/N: You know what to do! Review, review, review! Thanks! :)


	9. Take-Out

Chapter 9: Take-Out

The girl had fallen asleep within seconds of closing her eyes. Takuya stared helplessly at the girl in his arms, her breathing still a little shallow from crying earlier. He stroked the edge of her jawline and down her chin. Her delicate skin felt like feathers to his fingers and pushed away strands of rogue hair that had settled itself across her face. The anger that he had held in himself for so long subsided the moment he saw her. There was something about her that always made him want to be a better person instead of being so angry at the world. Maybe in his case, he was haggard from always keeping up the reputation of being the crazy partier, the guy who slept around with girls. He never really enjoyed those times he woke up with an unknown woman next to him in bed. He just thought if he did all of this, somehow it would get back at her—make Izumi seem less important in his life. He brought her closer to him and took on her smell her fragrance was one of the small things he cherished about her. The aroma of vanilla and lavender seeped around him and he held her tighter, all the decisions that he's made that went astray didn't seem to matter anymore. He just wanted to be here for her right now.

He thought about all the days she was right by his side, the days that she never left his side when he needed her the most, the nights and those games days when she would ease his mind with her kind words Izumi was always by his side from the very start. The one time she made a mistake he ended up getting more upset at her than he should have. He should have appreciated her love above the fact that she didn't tell him about her study abroad program, he should've listened more with his head and heart rather than just his heart alone. His emotions had run amuck and ahead of him when they could've calmly talked about it like the grown adults that they were. Honestly, he wouldn't know where he would've been without her in his life back then.

"I'm so sorry," he murmured into her hair, three words that were long overdue. As of right now, he couldn't be with her not when he was like this so lost on his own path. He needed to become the man that she had fallen in love, someone she could depend on again. He needed to stand tall for her. He got up and sat at the edge of the bed and breathed out heavily. Takuya placed his hands over his face and gave himself a moment before pulling his jacket off the chair and throwing it on. He gingerly crossed the threshold of her room and left closing the door softly behind him. Arriving at the bottom on the stairs he was greeted with Aoi and Kouji coming in from the front door the curly-haired girl giving him a distressed glance seeing him come from upstairs.

Takuya threw up his arms, "Relax, I didn't do anything to her," he ascertained sarcastically with a boy scout sign, "She cried herself to sleep," he said putting his hands in his pocket and pushing his shoulders back. He could feel a slight soreness coming on, but he didn't regret any of the stuff he's done to keep himself close to Izumi. Aoi took off her jacket and placed it on the couch before pulling her hair back into a ponytail. She walked around and sat down motioning the two boys to follow suit.

"You make her cry too much," Aoi sighed tapping her fingers on the glass table before her. Takuya leaned against the leathery upholstery while Koji lounged quietly on the love sofa beside her. Before Takuya could speak up Aoi put up a hand to stop him, "I'm not blaming you saying this is your fault, Kouji explained to me what happened," Aoi lowered her eyes gazing at the fuzzy floor mat beneath them, she wiggled her toes through it and smiled, "You know, she loves you, always had. The two years she was away she never looked at another man," Aoi narrated, her voice flowing ever so softly around the room, "Always told me about you guys here and all the wonderful things you guys would do together, it sounded all so magnificent." Aoi laughed, putting a hand up to cover her lips. Kouji found himself deeply immersed in this girl sitting beside him. Everything about her was just so beautiful and flawless that he was surprised he hadn't noticed sooner. His eyes drifted from her legs to her hands, eventually to her lips, so pink and luscious as he watched her speak. Kouji was suddenly filled with an immense urge to bring this girl into his arms and kiss her, touch her, _take_ her. He couldn't even begin to comprehend what the look of pleasure on her face would be like. The last thought jostled him awake hard when he realized that he had just fantasized about Izumi's best friend. A girl he hardly knew. A dark scarlet sheen covered his face as he put his hand up and looked away hoping neither of them noticed. He couldn't let Kouichi find out that he had these thoughts, if he did… It would only devastate his already fragile brother. He furrowed his brows before shutting his eyes to the world around him.

x x x x

Takuya fumbled with his keys, having his motorcycle helmet in one hand usually left him with only one set of hands to do things. He walked down the hall of apartment doors before reaching his own when he noticed a small package on his doorstep. He looked around, he didn't see any deliveryman coming up or leaving the area. Perplexed, Takuya placed his helmet down and picked up the brown parcel. He turned it over in his hand, there was no forwarding address nor was there an address for his home, all there was on the package was his name scrawled in a neat script that seemed almost ancient to his eyes. He rustled the box, only a small twinkle responded and Takuya made a face in terms of the rather feminine noise.

He managed to her his door open without dropping anything today to his relief. He placed his helmet on the wall rack and hung up his leather-riding jacket on the metal coat rack before placing his gloves and his package on his desk. Takuya went to his fridge and rummaged around, Kouji and Kouichi usually didn't mind him dropping by for dinner from time to time and he would always leave with extras, that way he would always have something to eat. The twins knew what a terrible cook he was and often tried to keep him away from the kitchen as often as possible in fear of him burning the whole apartment building down.

As he rummaged, Takuya thought back to Aoi's words that were spoken to him tonight. Her words somehow made his stomach burn with more guilt than ever. He'd realized that he had done something irrational again in terms of trying to make himself feel better, he threw himself at girls hoping the sex would make him forget but he was never satisfied, never felt whole like he did with Izumi. While this whole time Izumi had taken her out of the market for him. Takuya wasn't even aware that he was staring at the hand that Izumi was holding onto earlier until the sound of his chiming clock awoke his reverie. He clenched it reveling in the last bit of her presence before taking his head out of the fridge. His search for food was going nowhere and he sighed dejectedly at that thought, seems like another night of take out.

As he was about to take his car keys from the drawer top a gust of wind blew into his small living space. Takuya whirled around thinking he had left the window open again when he realized they were closed. Now, he was confused, was he tripping thinking he actually felt a gust of wind in his unopened-window home? Suddenly a stronger one welcomed itself through his window and swept him off his feet. Takuya landed on his back with a groan before scrambling back up in a hurry. With his eyes slightly bulging out of its socket from the fear he was being robbed or something, Takuya took stance ready to kick some ass if he had to. Before he could throw a punch, Takuya felt a warm and calming sensation wash over him and he felt his racing heart slowing down.

"Relax, Warrior of Fire," a voice softly entered the premises and Takuya looked around to find the source, "By the window," the voice continued. Takuya walked over, and he blinked in quiet astonishment, right outside his window was a massive ball of light made of smaller orbs of glowing effulgence floating around each other.

"What the hell…" Takuya muttered to himself as the light bobbed up then down.

"I see you got my message," the female voice noted at the package on the table, Takuya turned around.

"This is from you?" he asked incredulously, "What the hell is going on?" he was so confused right now, the orb of light that just happen to be hanging outside his window of all windows made things just stranger than normal. "You also called me the 'Warrior of Fire' I haven't been called that since middle school when I was at the Digital World. Did Ophanimon send you?" he barraged her with questions.

"In due time, warrior, you will know and understand. For now, I relay this message to you: you must protect the princess for she is in danger." The warning sounded so ominous and dangerous that Takuya felt goose pimples glide its way across his skin. The light seemed to sigh before shivering, "Find the princess and awaken her powers, but protect her at all costs," it flickered a bit, "I must go now… Be wary, Warrior of Fire, and be vigilant… And may all the luck be with you,"

The brilliance of the light began to fade as Takuya reached out hoping it'll stay. He had so many questions. This _thing_ can't just pop into his life and dictate his life around telling him to save a 'princess' he didn't even know about especially during the most inconvenient time in his life. Plus, what was this whole thing about a princess? What is this the Dark Ages? Takuya almost snorted out loud at his own thoughts at how preposterous this all sounded, but before he could ask it anything it disappeared into a wisp of light and dispersed.

Takuya pursed his lips in aggravation before turning his heel and marching right over to the brown parcel and ripping it open. He shook the box and out popped a small key. In the darkness he made out the rough edges of the key blade that was shaped like those of older keys with large bits running across the gunmetal bronze metal. The bow was molded into the ancient sign of 'fire' that he was so used to seeing and it was encrusted with small red stones he believed to be rubies. The rustic key was warm in his hands and it made Takuya smile, almost as if he made an instant connection with it.

He looked up through his window at the cloudless dark skies, how was he supposed to protect someone he didn't even know? Takuya was so lost in his own thoughts that he had forgotten about his take-out dinner plans.

- - - - - - - - x  
A/N: Review please! Thank you! :D If you have any thoughts, just let me know!


	10. Motorcycle

**Author's Brief Note:** I apologize if the Italian is wrong, all I have with me was Google Translate and sometimes I know how terrible the translations can get. Again, I'm sorry! I also made this chapter a little longer, a small gift from me since I didn't really post anything last week. Remember to review and enjoy!

Chapter 10: Motorcycle

"Will you hurry up, Aoi?" Izumi hollered running past the banister of the stairs trying to find her shoes, she didn't understand how she keeps misplacing them when the house wasn't even that big. She heard Aoi running up and down the hallway probably looking for the appropriate purse or jacket. The brunette came barreling down the stairs looking rather irritated, Izumi knew Aoi didn't have much patience for things and hated spending extraneous time looking for things.

"Dove cazzo è il mio telefono…" Izumi heard Aoi muttered under her breath and giggled. Aoi had a tendency to spout her native language when she's upset, "Cazzo irritante!" Aoi groaned tossing the couch pillows and magazines trying to find her cell phone. Izumi pointed to the kitchen counter, and she heard Aoi sigh in relief, "Grazie!" grabbing it off the counter and throwing it in her purse. She looked over her shoulder, "And I would go with the white wedges from earlier," she advised eyeing Izumi's pair of flats with a punitive glare. Izumi grunted with displeasure, Aoi relished in the fact that she can dictate what Izumi wore because Aoi just knew better and Izumi didn't really care what she wore as long as she was presentable _and_ comfortable. She hated when girls sacrificed one for the other. But she couldn't deny Aoi's eye for the fashionable that really helped bring out the best in Izumi.

"Come on, we're late again," Izumi urged tying her hair up in one swift motion while keeping the front door propped open for them. Aoi slipped on her leather boots and hopped on out with a smile on her face.

"You should put up your hair more often, you can see your features so much better," the girl grinned with a wink. Izumi ignored that comment but subconsciously pulled at the end of her hair.

x x x x

"You're late," was the first thing that came out of Takuya's mouth when he saw the two girls rushing up to them from the car. He had his arms crossed against his chest with a sour expression making it very apparent that he was annoyed at their tardiness. Kouichi, Junpei, Tomoki and Kouji waved hello not wanting to get into the tirade that Takuya seemingly was going to get himself into with Izumi. The others knew that Izumi wasn't going to sit idly by with that comment.

Izumi crinkled her nose and retorted, "Who asked you?" Kouji massaged his temples in exasperation.

"My patience," he replied swiftly turning around knowing it'd irritate her even more when he ignored her. Izumi was about to smack the back of his head for sassing her like that when Aoi lightly punched her in the back reminding her to behave.

"Asshole," Izumi muttered before following them down Junpei's driveway. The two has been silently going at it since 'that night' as everyone had entitled it. Izumi nor Takuya ever talk about it, they've brushed it under the rug as if it never happened. Although the tension can always be felt when the two were together. It wasn't an angry tension but that of an awkward one where the two seemed to be in limbo not knowing whether or not they've resolved their 'problem' yet and everyone that happened to be in the vicinity unfortunately gets sucked into it as well. Junpei and the others try not to let it bother them with the exception of Kouji whom was on the boarder line of imploding. He hated the petty squabbles, they were worst than the ones he suffered when they were at the Digital World. Kouji was infamous for his very short patience especially ones dealing with other people's personal problems.

"Can we get a move on?" Kouji croaked dismissively. He didn't know whose genius idea it was to come out in this blasted hot weather to go to a fair. He should've declined as this weather was giving him a headache and he was already in basketball shorts and a sleeveless shirt because the heat was so unbearable. He just wanted to get in the car and turn on the a/c.

The group approached Kouji's car and Takuya's bike when Izumi noticed that there weren't going to be enough seats for all of them. The all stood in an uncomfortable silence before Kouji unlocked his car, "Well, I'm driving so you guys figure it out, and soon," he added with a bit more malice than he had intended to. He blamed the heat; summers in Tokyo were the worst.

"I'm wearing a skirt, sorry," Aoi said, her voice dripping with way too much happiness at this scenario. As she got in the car she smiled, "Glad you wore the cargo jeans, no?" Izumi's cheeks were a florid fuchsia in matters of seconds. "Ah, you two are so cute," Aoi teased getting in the car. Tomoki hurriedly made up a lame excuse that he had motion sickness so he couldn't ride a motorcycle, which left only Junpei and Izumi as the viable options. Between the two, Izumi had more experience, as she was the only one that ever rode passenger with Takuya when they were together. But it wasn't even the fact that whether she wanted to ride or not, but the mere thought of being so close to Takuya were giving her butterflies in her stomach. She hadn't been this nervous in a long time.

They weren't talking about what had happened the other night nor were they talking about their underlying problem so the two of them were just hanging about trying to fit into their current situation like extra awkward pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that didn't really fit into the main picture. But Takuya seemed to be trying at least, in his own way trying to redeem himself. He hadn't gone out and fucked other girls out of sheer boredom and he hadn't been going out and getting himself drunk senseless. Izumi smiled to herself at that thought.

"Obviously, I'm not taking Junpei on the back," Takuya said with finality and the butterflies in her stomach were fluttering so hard that her breath impeded from coming out her throat when she realized that she was the only option left. Junpei made a face as if he was offended by that comment and Takuya gave him the finger, "Oh piss off, Junpei, you know you wouldn't take the bitch seat anyways," Takuya laughed and Junpei could only nod in agreement.

"But I don't have a helmet," Izumi interjected.

Junpei tossed Takuya a pair of keys, "Upstairs in the closet, never lost faith in you two," he grinned.

"I thought I told you to get rid of it," Takuya frowned scratching his head as if something was bothering him.

Junpei shrugged, "Aren't you glad I didn't? And honestly I didn't think you were that dense in actually believing I would get rid of it,"

"Aw, fuck you," Takuya snarled and Junpei gave him the finger right back at him. Izumi lamented at the words flying out of their mouths, they've become such potty mouths since she left. Apparently no one kept them in check, she could only hope that Tomoki hadn't caught onto their disgusting habit with a slight groan before following Takuya up to the stairs to Junpei's apartment.

The group in Kouji's car left first as Takuya planned on catching up with them on the freeway. They walked into the apartment and Takuya went straight to the storage closet and pulled out a box and dusted it off. Izumi recognized the box even from afar.

"Is that…?" Izumi was afraid to ask as a pang of sorrow rushed to her throat clogging it from being useable. Takuya didn't say anything as he lifted the cover off and pulled out a matte black motorcycle helmet, the outside were hand painted by none other than Takuya himself depicting fresh cherry blossoms and swirls covering the back side to the profile of the helmet. Takuya had spent hours at it as Izumi's eighteenth birthday present. She looked at him while he stood up handing her the helmet, "Why?" she asked her lower lip trembling. Takuya looked away, that expression had always been his kryptonite. It was the one thing that made him weak in the knees. They both knew what she was talking about. Izumi was talking about what Junpei had said earlier, about Takuya wanting it gone.

"I had no use for it," he explained simply dusting himself off and putting the box back into the closet. Izumi was close to tears again, she utterly despised herself that all she could nowadays was cry when her old self wouldn't have given a flying fuck. But she wasn't that young girl anymore and Takuya wasn't just anyone she could ignore. He was important to her, he meant something to her, he was someone that she cherished and all these things that he was saying and doing did hurt.

She heard him groan when instantaneously his arms wrapped themselves around her shoulders and he pulled her into a soothing hug, "Don't cry, you know I hate it when you cry," he muttered rubbing soft circles on her lower back knowing well-enough that was the one thing that calmed her the easiest.

She wanted to throw punches at him again, but instead pushed him away and looked up at him. Even in wedges he had outgrown her, "Then why are you doing this to me? Is it out of spite?! If it is then I'm sorry!" They both paused, her eyes blurry with falling tears, "I'm so sorry…" she cried dropping to a squat burying her face in her hands. He followed suit and pried her hands from her face, "Don't look at me!" Izumi pleaded trying to cover herself again. She must've looked miserable at the moment.

"Yeah, you do look like shit," he concluded with a soft smile and she gave him a punch on the shoulder, "Come on, we're going to be late and you know I like being punctual," it was something he had grown accustomed to ever since being captain of the soccer team, it was what he expected from his players too. He helped her up and went to the bathroom. While Izumi washed her face and wiped away all her tears, Takuya fumbled with the helmet straps sitting with his back against the bathroom door.

"You know… I'm sorry too. I just…" he didn't even know where to begin with what he wanted to say, "I didn't know what to do with all your stuff, everything smelled like you and it was a constant reminder and I was just so angry and did so many things I've come to regret everyday," he paused for a second to get a breath in. The bathroom had since turned quiet and Izumi on the other end was listening with her head against the door. "But I continued because I was frustrated and alone and turning my back to the world, turning my back on you just seemed the easiest way out. I wanted to forget you. I wanted to destroy the memories we had together so they wouldn't hurt me anymore. But the funny thing is, your memories, our memories were the one thing I couldn't really let go of…" he confessed, "Izumi, I really am sorry about who I've become." The door slowly opened and Izumi kneeled down to his level and gave him a hug, perhaps that's what they really needed to hear from each other: their honest feelings. Izumi smiled out of irony maybe it wasn't so bad being stranded with just a motorcycle and a boy.


	11. Restroom

**Author's Brief Note**: So, this is more of a Kouji blurb more than anything else. Please don't kill me. LOL! But he's really starting to grow on me and I wanted to give him some story time as well besides just forcing everyone to always read about the same two characters. I hope you enjoy this one too!

Chapter 11: Restroom

Kouji glared up against the cloudless sunny day, he was baring his teeth as if challenging the sun to be any hotter than it was now. His hands were drawn across his face to cover the sunrays from smearing its filthy heat across his face, but to no avail. Summer was definitely winning and Kouji was still miserable. The group sat outside the ticket booth for the two stragglers, Takuya promising he'd find them on the freeway, but Izumi probably held him back in one way or the other. 'Punctuality' was not part of Izumi's vocabulary and she was always fast on pointing the finger as well. Surprisingly, even after almost a decade of knowing the sandy-haired girl, the guys were still pretty unforgiving when it came to her belatedness.

They had all resorted to using the maps that they gave out at the entrance as makeshift fans when they finally heard Takuya pull up with Izumi in tow right behind him. She hopped off and pulled off her helmet, her face was flushed red and her hair was a mess but the silly smile plastered on her face was undeniable, a part of her had missed the joys of riding on a motorcycle. She nearly hopped on over to Aoi with adrenaline still pumping through her system and Aoi could only laugh with her.

"Oh! It was brilliant! I haven't done that in so long! I can't believe I went so long without tasting the wind in my hair and just flying by cars!" she cooed, it almost sounded like she was the one who was riding the motorcycle and not Takuya, but Aoi didn't want to spoil Izumi's fun. She hadn't seen her best friend this ecstatic in a very long time and it made her so happy to see Izumi be herself again.

"Oy! Can we go in now?" Kouji snapped like a little child throwing a tantrum. The two girls turned to face the raven-haired man. His face was tinted pink from the heat, his hair slightly stuck to his face and he had sheen of sweat across his body that was glistening under the sun. Aoi bit her lower-lip, it never occurred to her as to why it never crossed her mind that the younger twin was also quite handsome as well. I mean they were twins after all, but their personalities were on different sides of the spectrum so Aoi never really looked at them as if they were the same person. She hadn't had the opportunity to get to know Kouji so she didn't know much about him besides the fact that the two brother's lived together and that he was the stoic one of the two. Perhaps today will be the day that she'll be able to make friends with him on a personal level.

"Don't be such a baby, Kouji-channn!" Izumi drawled throwing in the formalities that made Kouij stiffen with disgust as Izumi went over and threw an arm around his shoulders whilst Kouji tried to push her off clearly uncomfortable at how close she's gotten to him. Takuya bounded over tossing Junpei's keys back at him and they proceeded to walk towards the ticket booth.

"I got you," a voice next to Aoi spoke up as she looked up and saw Kouichi pulling out his wallet.

"Ah, no! It's okay, I can pay for it myself," Aoi insisted pushing his arms back down, she didn't want to feel like she needed people to treat her just because she was a visitor.

"I want to," Kouichi answered with a smile that almost made Aoi's knees weak, but she managed to catch herself before she crumpled into a heap of useless limbs. "Come on, let me treat you this once! Let yourself enjoy Tokyo at my expense," he winked and Aoi felt a burning sensation creeping up to her cheeks.

"Oh…" she fidgeted uncomfortably looking at the ground, she couldn't bring herself to argue with him. For once Aoi couldn't get a guy to do what she wanted, and that really intrigued her. There were rarely any men that would be able to leave her speechless let alone make her act like it was her first time flirting.

Unaware of his actions, Kouji was actually watching from afar and he was unsure as to why it pissed him off so much to see his brother laughing with the new girl. There was a weird feeling in his chest that clenched itself together so tightly that Kouji felt it actually hurt and there was something in his stomach that was trying to claw its way out. It wasn't until the girl at the booth yelled for the next customer did he realize that he had almost ripped the money that was in his hand. Kouji cleared his mind of the haze that had just clouded his head. Once again he blamed the blasted summer heat for his sudden lack of judgment and the odd feelings that came with it. He really needed to get out of the sun.

The humid climate was now mixed with an intricate array of aromas that had begun to conglomerate around the tents. The sweet caress of caramel drizzled popcorn wafted from the left and Takuya could practically see the drool dripping from Izumi's lips while the delectable savory smell of bacon wrapped hotdogs had Junpei practically jumping ship for it. Aoi was at awe at all the bright colors and noise that were coming from the animals, the machines, and the rides. The ringing laughter of kids roamed the air like that of oxygen itself; it was so thick you can practically breathe it in. The festive mood soon seeped its way into each person and soon fell victim to the plushy animals hanging from the game booths. Tomoki was strangely good at the aiming games in the process he won a guitar and four other stuffed animals that he graciously gave to the ladies of the group. Of course the other men being the men that they were weren't going to let a younger boy out play them in the games and it was then that the challenges began.

Kouji watched as Takuya and Junpei attempted to smash a pile of bottles each hollering at each other to lose while Izumi and Tomoki were cheering them on to win. He couldn't even bother to figure out where his brother was as the sun beat down on his back and he squinted up at the sky. Honestly, he hated being outside when it was this hot. He was never a summer person to begin with. Apparently they weren't the only ones that were stupid enough to wander out into this godforsaken heat. He closed his eyes daydreaming that a/c was blasting everywhere when he felt a sudden coolness overhead. He opened his eyes to meet a pair of amethyst colored ones staring back at him with a sun umbrella between the two of them.

"What are you doing?" he demanded and the girl just gave him a smile, she rummaged through her purse, pulled out a bottle of iced water and a pale pink handkerchief. She placed the umbrella on her shoulder and proceeded to dump water onto the handkerchief. "Hey—what!" before he could object she had placed the cooling mat on his neck soothing his sunbaked back. Kouji couldn't help but let out a sigh, the cooling sensation of the iced water dripped around his neck felt so nice that he just wanted to jump into a pool right now.

"Thought you'd need it more than me," Aoi said with a small chuckle. She put the water bottle back in her purse and slowly rubbed circles down Kouji's neck, his shoulder then his arm, "Your brother told me how you hated the heat. I find it admirable that you came out with us anyways even though I can clearly see how miserable you are," Aoi's soft voice was once again captivating Kouji's attention. He watched her long lashes bat against her eyelids and those lips that he couldn't get enough of. The touch of her skin against his was sending goose pimples down his neck. God, he just wanted to kiss those succulent lips.

His mind was wandering again and the compulsion of wanting to just pleasure the whole of her came rushing to his stomach. But Kouji's mental ability has always been the stronger of the two and in one swift motion he grabbed ahold of her wrist to make her stop, it took every morsel of focus for him not to give in to his physical side. Deep down, he didn't want her to stop; it felt too good when she was this close to him. He felt her breath shorten and her eyes grew big watching him, he finally let go of her turning and walking away.

Aoi's heart was beating fast that she thought it would've jumped out of her chest. She rubbed the area where Kouji had grabbed her, she knew that he didn't mean to startle her all of a sudden, but was it something she said? Aoi felt her cheeks flush a fresh sheet of pink as she thought back on what just happened. The second he had touched her she felt the strangest sensation of a shock go through her body. She had never felt anything like it and it left her almost breathless. Her stomach was knotted in butterflies and she couldn't calm her beating heart. She looked down at her wrist, now turning a light shade of red, and wondered: What was this strange feeling in her chest?

x x x x

Kouji had rushed to the restroom and turned on the water faucet. He threw water onto his face hoping the sudden coldness would wake him up from this weary feeling. Every single time she was close to him it just drove him insane, she made him feel things that would leave him exhausted but wanting more of that useless emotion. He just couldn't lie to himself, he wasn't an idiot, and it's obvious that he couldn't get enough of her. She was dangerous. It was like Aoi didn't even realize that Kouji was also a man, not just Izumi's long time friend. A man very like Takuya whom had needs as well. He looked up into the mirror, a darkened azure-eyed man stared silently back at him. What was he going to do? Kouji sighed, there wasn't much to do. He just hoped that he didn't get stuck alone with the girl.

Kouji decided to empty his bladder before exiting when footsteps resounded into the restroom and Takuya strolled in, the two stared for a moment before Takuya walked over to the other stall. The sound of zippers and belts being undone echoed across the room when seconds later it was replaced with the sound of urination.

"Aoi, huh?" Takuya teased not looking up, but Kouji can practically envision the huge smirk on the jerk's face.

Kouji scoffed, "Can't a guy piss in peace?" but already he could feel the burning sensation of embarrassment making its way up his neck. Fuck. He was hoping no one noticed his attraction to Aoi. Then again, Takuya has mastered the ways of seduction. Kouji wouldn't be able to hide something like that from his best friend even if he tried his hardest.

"Don't be stupid, Kouji, you and I both know that she's attractive," Takuya concluded for the both of them and Kouji couldn't retort against that.

Kouji turned and looked at Takuya whom had just finished his duties, "For a guy who's still in love with his ex, that's a pretty bold statement,"

Takuya shrugged, "I never said I was going to sleep with her, it was merely an observation. Are you going to tell me that she's not a pretty girl?" This time it was Kouji who shrugged. "But just saying, if you and I noticed… I'm sure there are others that has too," Takuya simply said as if insinuating at Kouji to do something about it.

"No," was Kouji's answer. He wasn't going to hurt his own brother like that. If Kouichi liked her then he can have Aoi. Although that very thought made his stomach churn but Kouji decidedly ignored his own feelings.

Takuya washed his hands and dried them with a paper towel, "Your loss, bro," and with that he walked out. Kouji finally let out a haggard sigh; this was the reason why he hated public areas. Pissing with your best friend never has a good outcome.

= = = = = = = x

**Question of the Day**: Kouji or Kouichi? I can't decide! D:


	12. Lost

Chapter 12: Lost

The flick of her tongue, the drip of her sweat, the warm air between them were all the signs of how hot it was getting as the sun reached the peak of noon. Izumi was fanning herself with her hand sitting in the shade with an ice cream cone in the other. The others had opted to get lunch while they left Takuya and her in charge of saving seats. She knew they did it on purpose to give the two of them space, but she really wished they didn't. They were grown adults, they will talk when the time is right. She absentmindedly watched Takuya; her eyes gliding from his jawline to his neck and down his chest then his arms. Has time changed so much that she hardly recognized him now that she really looked at him closely. His facial features were much more prominent than before, he had lost that boyish charm and now have been replaced by the face of a man. Izumi continued to lick her ice cream as she stared unaware that Takuya was watching her as well from the side.

He felt her gaze and he tried not to squirm under her watchful eyes, she was checking for some sign of the past and part of him felt troubled. He turned and faced the side watching little toddlers and children run across the warm asphalt, parents in tow. He didn't want her to see all of him yet, he was afraid what she may find and he was unwilling to lose her again.

He wiped his brow with his arm and sighed, he looked over slightly and caught Izumi eating her melting ice cream. He noticed how flushed her cheeks were from the heat, the curve of her lips touching the brim of the cone, sweat delicately blanketed across her neck and the rounds of her breast. Takuya could feel his own eyes without the control drift lower until they stopped at her breathing chest. The tank top she was wearing was pulled slightly down so that the edge of her pink brassiere was peeking through, silk decorated with a little bit of lace. He remembered anything with lace Izumi would buy, essentially anything that was remotely soft to the touch with a splash of sexy were always Izumi's favorite although she would never let anyone else know of that fact. Takuya smiled half-heartedly to himself, he kind of missed those days when he would complain about going shopping with her, but now he wouldn't mind doing it again.

Takuya's eyes lingered taking in all of her, Izumi had grown into a fine young woman and he was proud of what she has accomplished. But there was still that inkling feeling that he can't trust her because of her past actions, she had left him basically standing all alone in the dark. He gave all of him to her and at the end she still left him. The numb pain he had gotten so used came creeping back as Takuya clutched his heart making sure to turn away from Izumi. He needed some air.

"I'm going to walk around," Takuya said as he eyed a group of people coming towards them. Good, Kouji and the others were back. He stood up and walked away giving the others a notice that he was going to be back in a few minutes. The others looked at each other before giving Izumi a glance whom had a worried expression on her face as she looked at retreating back of the dark brunette.

"Are you going to go talk to him?" Aoi asked with raised brows. Izumi merely looked down, her face red. Aoi sat down with her food and began picking at it, "If you're that worried already, mind as well," she shrugged as if she didn't care, but she knew those words would make Izumi go to him. With a smile Izumi got up and followed suit as the others began to settle themselves down to eat lunch.

Junpei had a smirk on his lips before gobbling down his turkey leg, "You're scary good at this sometimes," he noted.

"What can I say? I'm just a good spell caster," she winked with a smile licking her finger of the gooey hot mess that was her nacho cheese, although deep down she was hoping for the best for the both of them.

x x x x

She was looking, looking for that head of messy hair, the gleam of those mischievous mahogany eyes, that wry sarcastic smile, anything to tell her that she hadn't lost him in the sea of people. The urgency that was flooding her body was unfamiliar to her as to why she would feel so desperate to find him. Izumi stopped and looked around; she didn't recognize anyone that was even close to looking like Takuya. Her heart began to race and she felt this aching in her chest.

"Where are you, Takuya?" she whispered, her eyes brimming with tears.

Just when she was about to give up, fingers snaked their way through hers and pulled her through the crowd and once she was out in the open of the center courtyard she was met with those eyes that she was searching for now dancing with excited laughter.

"Geez, I take my eyes off you for one second and you go and get lost," Takuya teased brushing a strand of hair from her face and Izumi pouted with her brows furrowed in discontent.

"I was not! I was looking for you because I was worried!" she blurted out in a huff before taking in a breath at what she had just said. Takuya was also staring back at her with surprise, his eyes blinking in astonishment. She stepped back, "I… I… It's n… not an appropriate time to talk about this," Izumi stuttered trying to compose herself. She used a hand to push her hair back in an attempt to distract herself, her eyes darting to flashing lights. She felt Takuya's warm hands wrap around her wrist and pulled her in, forcing her to look up at him.

Her eyes were wavering, tears already starting to form at the corners of her eyes. She looked away hoping he hadn't caught sight of it, but he lifted her face up with his hand, "The time now is as perfect as any," his voice soft and tender in hopes of calming her down.

She shook her head, she just wasn't ready to deal with her feelings, she had hurt him and he had hurt her in ways they both can't comprehend. Izumi understood that the path to healing would only come if they talked about what had happened, to reconnect and to patch their broken hearts. Izumi placed a hand on the side of his face, "I don't know how to do this… Just not yet, okay?" she pleaded gingerly a few tears ushering down her face. Takuya used his thumb and wiped them away and in a subconscious movement he kissed her forehead.

Realizing what he had done, Takuya backed away and covered his lips in embarrassment, "Sorry," he mumbled, "Habit," He hesitated for a moment before turning to her, "Lets go back, everyone's probably still waiting," and begun to walk back towards the direction Izumi had originally come from.

Izumi touched her forehead gently, "Okay," she replied almost to herself. The butterflies in her stomach had started fluttering senselessly again when he kissed her. Now her nervousness was bubbling over the edge with her face blushing a ferocious red. But even then, with those uncontrolled feelings there was that warm and fuzzy feeling one gets when that one person kisses a person with so much love, that it's overwhelming. A sigh escaped her lips, Izumi couldn't help but to crave for that past life the two of them had shared. Izumi shook her head once more before catching up to Takuya, his hand finding hers once more so that she wouldn't lose sight of him again.

- - - - - - - - - - x

A/N: Please review! Thanks! ^_^


	13. Easiest Thing

Chapter 13: Easiest Thing

He fiddled with the rustic key, his finger gliding on the edges of the encrusted rubies. The sun was lazily coming down on him while he sat in Izumi's backyard sipping a bottle of Kirin. A few beads of condensation dripped onto his shirt while he observed the key with a skeptic glance. It was a slow mid day during the week and Aoi had invited the guys to a small get together. Junpei, unfortunately being the eldest one, had work priorities, Tomoki was in cram school for the summer, and Kouichi was helping his mother prep for a dinner gathering that Kouji was supposed to be helping with as well. Lo and behold the other raven-haired man had slipped out the door before he was thrown with potato duties.

It's been a few days since they went to the carnival that ended rather nicely. Takuya took Izumi home reveling in the presence of Izumi's arms once again wrapped around his body as they moved through the congestion of Tokyo traffic on a Saturday evening. He felt her breasts rubbing against his back as they rode home and it took every ounce of concentration he had not to become aroused in the middle of riding. Both their safety relied on him being alert, but god forbid he just wanted to fondle them. It was a sigh of relief when he was able to finally drop her off and say an awkward goodbye before rushing home and relieving himself of the tension. He was not ashamed to say that his mind was filled with the images of her the whole time he was sating his appetite.

The screen door rattled open and Kouji stepped out with a plate of raw patties in his hand, Takuya hurriedly placed the key back into his jean pocket and took another swig of beer. The outdoor built-in grill kitchen ensemble was fired up and the last of the condiments and toppings were out of the kitchen and ready to be cooked. Aoi stepped out of the house with tongs and paper plates with Izumi following behind with the remainder of the utensils. Kouji tossed in a couple of patties on the grill and began to flip them accordingly with Aoi next to him tossing in different spices into a bowl to make a seasoning.

"You rather have grill duty than potato duty?" Izumi giggled setting down the napkins and plastic forks and spoons. Kouji shrugged his shoulders and gave her a small grin before going back to flipping burgers. Takuya watched her from across the grill, her blonde hair falling across her shoulder in one thick braid as she rearranged the ingredients on the ceramic table. He couldn't help but stare at her natural beauty and why he ever let her go. The fight that ensued two years ago didn't even seem important anymore. The girl looked up and he gave her a smile in which she returned and he just melted under her laughing gaze.

"I forgot the buns." Aoi suddenly looked up frowning at her own carelessness to double check the grocery list.

Izumi sighed shaking her head, "It was on the list, Aoi. I even called you to ask if you had everything. How did you forget to get one of more important things on it?" Aoi laughed hesitantly backing up to the door.

"I'm sorry, I must've thought that I put it in the cart when I didn't. It's okay, I'll go down the street and pick some up," Izumi was going to follow suit when Kouji stepped away from the grill.

"I'll take her. You live here so at least one resident has to stay home and watch the house," Kouji handed Izumi the tongs and the two proceeded to head out the front door.

"Don't do anything nasty while we're away!" Aoi called out playfully before slamming the door behind her. Izumi rolled her eyes and turned so that Takuya wouldn't catch her reddened cheeks. No words were exchanged between them except the soft sounds of R&B coming from indoors and the sizzling of the patties on the grill. Izumi flipped her hair off her shoulder as the heat was making her sweat a bit. She heard Takuya putting down the beer bottle and coming over to peer over her shoulder.

"You're burning the edges there," he noted, she could literally taste his sarcasm in her mouth.

"Can you not be so close? It's a bit distracting," Izumi muttered putting a patty on the side before it burnt.

She heard him chuckle, "Oh I'm sorry, and I distract you?" he jostled his way through her arms trying to get the tongs from her. Izumi slapped his hands away raising the tongs from his reach that soon the two were a tangle of limbs with her back to the grill, arms reached high with her legs between his. All the while she tried to tell him to stop. His hands ended up pressing tightly against the granite built-in grill tabletop with his other arm clasped tightly around the small of her wrist. He could've easily taken it from her since he was much taller than she was but the close contact of the two made for a very interesting distraction from his goal. She glowered up at him with those large emerald eyes of hers that gleamed a mischievous glow. He saw perspiration crawling across the curve of her neck and down her collarbone before disappearing through the crevice of her breasts.

Izumi can see that he was eyeing her with those hungry eyes, those mahogany eyes that wanted her. Her body told her one thing and yet her heart told her another, was she really ready for this again? At the same time, the way his touch would send shocks through her body made her earn for him as well. It was hot, they were sweaty, and jesus christ he was so close to her that she could taste his aroma. There was familiar rush of energy through her body fueled by her hormones as she dropped the tongs with a loud clatter. He ran his fingers down her face then to her jawline before cupping it and bringing her lips to his. A force like no other ran through both of them causing a slight moan to escape from Izumi as he bit her lower lip. Her body was feverish while she ran her hands through his dark chocolate tresses and he trailing kisses down her neck leaving little red love marks on her porcelain skin.

Everything about her was perfect. God, her lips tasted so sweet against his and her touches were sending shivers down his back making him wild. He wanted more. Naturally his hands made his way past her shirt and underneath it as he caressed her waist, then he felt the edge of her bra. He traced it back to the hook and played with it ready to just rip it off her. It was amazing how she made him felt, never in the two years that he's been hooking up with random girls had any one of them ever made him feel so whole with just their lips. The sounds that were eliciting from her lips were pure ecstasy and he was drunk on them. He was so lost in the moment that he didn't even realize that the key in his pocket was beginning to shimmer. Upstairs in the house a soft rattling could be heard coming from Izumi's room again, like the first time, the locket had activated with an even brighter orb of light surrounding itself. All the while the two unknowingly were beginning to create a force of energy that was so strong that it was going to attract _**all**_ kinds of trouble.

Izumi felt his hands making their way under her shirt but it felt too good to stop him, but the moment she felt him toying with her bra her eyes flew open and in a second of clear consciousness she went rigid. What the hell was she doing? Izumi stopped and pushed herself away from Takuya and looked up, "I can't, Takuya…" She watched his eyes droop with disappointment and only nodded in agreement. He didn't want to ruin his chances with her by forcing her to do something she just clearly wasn't ready for. "I'm sorry," she muttered.

Takuya didn't want to hurt Izumi, and he would never force her against her will. He observed the small blonde with her dejected eyes; her swollen lips and rosy cheeks and he couldn't help but want to hold her. He wrapped his arms around her and let out a sigh, "No, I'm sorry… I shouldn't have pushed you," With the progress of the two slowing to a halt the key's energy had also begun to wan as well, another minute long Takuya would've definitely noticed something was amiss.

She shook her head as the front door opened and they heard footsteps coming out their way. The two hurriedly pulled apart and patted their hair down trying to make themselves look natural as if nothing happened. Kouji and Aoi appeared at the screen door, she chatting away while Kouji listened. Aoi raised the buns triumphantly with a huge smile her face, "I got it!" she called out. Izumi hastily put on a thin jacket and pulled up the hoody hoping to cover the hickies Takuya had given her. If Aoi had found out, she was never going to let her live it down. Her heart was still beating a mile at a time and her hand shaky from the adrenaline coursing through her veins. Izumi took a deep breath to calm herself before smiling and motioning for Aoi to come help her prep the burgers.

x x x

"You all right there, Takuya?" Kouji asked staring casually at his best friend as he took a sip of his beer. Takuya looked up startled as if he didn't know what Kouji was talking about. Kouji pointed his bottle to Takuya's right cheek, "You got a little something there, my friend," Takuya hurriedly wiped away whatever it was that was on his face only to realize that it was a lipstick smudge mark. Kouji could see the red in Takuya's face for getting caught. Kouji didn't say anything as it wasn't his business anyways, he continued to drink his beer and shrugged, "Just… Be careful where you tread, okay?"

Takuya ruffled his hair in annoyance that he was so careless he usually wasn't so conspicuous. He peered over his shoulder to look over at the two girls, "I couldn't help it, she's just so intoxicating," Takuya mused almost to himself. He turned back to face Kouji with a sullen expression, "For the first time in my life, I don't know what to do,"

"Did you ever?" Kouji scoffed softly with a roll of his eyes, but got a glower from Takuya in response. Kouji pulled a chair and sat down next to Takuya, "What do you want to do?"

"I want to hold her hand, kiss her tenderly, hold her, have her, I want every part of her," Takuya groaned putting his face into his palms, "I want to start over,"

"Then why don't you?" Kouji asked as if it was a no-brainer.

"It's not that easy," Takuya mumbled while rubbing his eyes to distract himself of thinking.

Kouji didn't say anything for a moment, Takuya was afraid that he might have spilled too much of his guts to him when he spoke up, "Have you tried? If you haven't how would you know it's not? Or that Izumi won't be into it?" The way Kouji sometimes read Takuya's mind was kind of scary. Takuya stopped what he was doing and looked at his best friend when a slow grin crept onto his face. Kouji was right. The fear that had immobilized him never gave Takuya the chance to start things anew with Izumi. Kouji gave him a slap on his shoulder as if his job was done for the day, "Lets go get some burgers before they eat it all," he joked standing up. Takuya followed suit with a shake of his head, it was strange how sometimes the simplest answer was right there in front of him

- - - - - - x

**Author's Note**: I know I haven't posted in a long while, and I apologize for that! I'm up to my eyeballs with homework, midterm studying and work. Hope you all can forgive me! Here's the next chapter! :] Enjoy and review!


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